Redemption
by SheyConYamo
Summary: It is said the road to redemption is a long and rocky path, filled with trials and tribulations of all make and manner. There are very few strong enough to take it. Fewer still who would even admit that they need to. But, when a second chance is given, what else is there to do but take it? Takes place after Kung Fu Panda 3; Rated T for later chapters.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Kung Fu Panda, nor am I in any way affiliated with it's creators. All belongs to DreamWorks.**

 **I only claim the storyline and OC's.**

* * *

 **Prologue~***

It was cold. It was so cold it felt warm.

No… it was warm, too. It was warm and cold at the same time.

It also seemed to be dark. Or was it light, as well? So light it was blinding like darkness?

He felt softness all around him. But, it felt hard at the same time.

Something accosted his senses. He felt twitches… his ears. His ears were twitching. Why did they hurt? His face seemed to be twitching too. Or was that a grimace? It hurt too. The something happened again.

It was sound.

Sounds were building around him. Small, quiet, choppy sounds.

He felt that movement and pain again in his face. Were those his eyebrows? Was he closing his eyes tight? No… they were already closed.

He opened them, though it felt as if they were weighted. He heard sound again as the bright light flooding his vision caused more pain. The sound was from him. What was that he was doing? Groaning? Whimpering? He blinked with difficulty, the action causing more pain. He felt himself move. He was lifting his arm. Pain reverberated thought it and he made more sounds as he moved it to cover his face.

He saw shadows in the light, and more sounds. The choppy sounds had increased and had become more rapid.

Voices. They were voices. The shadows… they were people.

 _What are they doing… why are they looking at me… where am I?_ he thought.

"Looks like he's coming around," whispered an elderly she-goose in disapproval.

"How do you know it's a he?" asked a younger pig, her farm hand, looking at her dubiously.

"Only male bull-folk have horns you idiot!" she said, whacking him upside the head. "Besides, he's naked, just take a gander down south-"

"I most certainly will not!" he retorted.

"We should get Gidahn, he needs to see this," whispered one of the young she-antelope, still holding her root bundles, having rushed in from the fields to see the ruckus. Several of the others nodded in agreement.

"And why should he need to see it?" asked the farm hand, crossing his arms. "Gidahn look at this, Gidahn tell us that, just because he's bigger than everyone else doesn't mean-"

"It's because he's a yak, you idiot!" the goose exclaimed, whacking him once more. "Yak are like bull-folk, so he'll better be able to deal with the brute if he suddenly decides to go raging about."

"Doesn't look like he'll be able to do much of anything, actually," said another antelope, kneeling to get a better look of the bull's face. He tilted his head and looked to the others. "It looks like he's in a great deal of pain," he whispered.

"Who cares," the she goose grated. "He passes out on _my_ farmland-"

"You mean wasteland," the farm hand interrupted.

"Shut it!" the goose exclaimed, waiving her wing at the pig threateningly.

"Best keep your voice down, Ling," came a deep voice from behind them.

All turned to see the aforementioned yak, standing tall. His deep brown eyes, uncovered since his fur was pulled back into a braid, overlooked the scene. "How long has he been here?" he asked, walking forward, holding his thick walking staff close.

"Who knows, and who cares," ground out Miss Ling the goose. "Probably all night for how stiff he moves." She huffed and crossed her arms. "Who got to you before we-" she snapped her beak shut as she caught sight of the young rabbit peeking from behind the large yak. "Of course," she muttered angrily from under her breath.

"Has he said anything?" Gidahn asked, walking into their midst and kneeling to get a better look of the strange bull.

"Not a thing," answered the she-antelope. "He's only made very few noises, and doesn't seem to be able to see us."

"He can hear us though," answered the male antelope, reaching out and snapping his claws.

The bull's ears reacted instantly, twitching away from the noise as he scrunched his eyes closed.

Gidahn looked at the large bull carefully, noting he was thickly muscled and his horns were strong, long, and littered with scrapes and scratches, as if he was used to fighting. He reached out and caught one horn in his hoof, shoving it down and bringing the bull's face around to him. The bull grimaced, as if the action was painful. Gidahn could feel the shiver running through the bull's body through the very horn he held.

"Well, Gidahn? We haven't got all day!" Miss Ling exclaimed, flapping her wings about. "I have work to do-"

"Tending to dirt?" the farm hand interrupted.

The goose turned on him with a glare. "One more word out of you Tok and I'll-"

"Quiet," Gidahn said softly.

The other village folk watched him wearily, as Miss Ling leveled her glare to the large yak.

"Well get your boys and haul him to the river or something, I'm tired of looking at him!" she said angrily.

Gidahn watched patiently despite her words, observing as the bull struggled to open his eyes again. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot, what he could see of his irises a vibrant green. "The river may have carried him here…" he mused.

"Pfft, hardly. It hasn't breached it's banks in ten years. Why do you think my land is so dry!" the goose retorted.

"So you admit it!" her farm hand, Tok, said gleefully.

"You!-"

"Mika."

All eyes turned to Gidahn and the young gray and white rabbit at his side. She looked up to him with big blue eyes. "Yes, master?"

Gidahn looked to her and nodded. "Go fetch Mel and Tai. Tell them to bring the cart."

Mika nodded and took off in a flash, hopping through the parched farm rows with ease.

"What are you going to do with him, eh?" Miss Ling asked suspiciously.

Gidahn didn't look at her as he let go of the bull's horn. "I don't know yet. But I'll get him off your land as requested."

Another pig from the back of the crowd spoke up. "You should dump him in the river like Ling said. He could be dangerous."

Gidahn took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "We shall see."

Several minutes passed, enough time for the crowd of villagers to start speculating as to the strange bull's origins, each new theory more wild than the last. All the while, the bull's condition stayed the same. He remained weak, unable to speak and barely able to keep his eyes open for a few moments at a time. Gidahn never commented on the theories, only watched and waited for his sons to arrive. When they did, he assisted in hefting the large male into the cart, keeping hold of his horns as his sons lifted his weight. None of the other villagers seemed to notice or care of the slight gasps of pain escaping him at being moved and handled. Gidahn didn't bat an eye.

The villagers followed as they hauled him away, neither asking to escort nor invited to do so.

As they all made their way over the dusty farm rows and away from the original scene of the strange occurrence, no one seemed to notice the patch of vibrant green grass still sprouting upwards from where the bull had lain.

 **XxXxX**

* * *

 **Thank you for the read! Have a good day or night and a wonderful time~***


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Kung Fu Panda, nor am I in any way affiliated with it's creators. All belongs to DreamWorks.**

 **I only claim the storyline and OC's.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1~***

 ***five years later***

 _It was dark._

 _He was running._

 _What was he running from?_

 _He looked behind him. His brilliant green eyes caught sight of something that made his blood run cold. His fur bristled as a shiver ran up his spine. He turned and put more strength into his legs. He had to get out of there, he had to get away._

 _But, away from what?_

 _He turned again, it was closer. He felt a scream catch in his lungs, strangled by his parched throat as he gasped desperately in the cold air._

 _He could feel it… squeezing his heart and tugging at his legs. He could feel it slithering up his spine and clawing at his hide._

 _Fear._

 _He turned and knew this movement would be his last before he was swallowed whole by-_

"WHAAHAHAA!"

Po shot straight up and lost his balance, rolling off his cot and flopping onto the floor of his room in a daze.

"Wha- heh, what, what was, huh?" He pushed himself to his knees, vibrant green eyes darting every which way in the sundrenched room. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "What… why?" He finally took a deep breath and relaxed, letting his shoulders droop as he opened his eyes to look at the floorboards of his room. "Why does that-"

"Po!"

"Yeahaa!" Po jumped up instinctively, taking stance reflexively; only to see Tigress at his door. "Uh…" his gaze darted to either side. "Um… good morning to you too…"

Tigress stood straight and leveled a flat gaze at him. "Po, what just happened?"

Po relaxed once more, letting his arms dangle. "Wudoyoumean, I was just-" he glanced to the window, "excited to be waking up to such a beautiful sunrise!" He grinned and headed to the window, throwing open the panes and leaning his head out the window. "WAHAAAA!" he hollered, hearing his voice echo back to him from the sprawling palace grounds. He turned and gave Tigress a smirk. "See what I mean? You should try it sometime!"

Tigress stared at him. She appeared quite unamused.

Po resisted the urge to swallow his nerves as he held her gaze. He blinked and took a breath to say something when his eyes suddenly wandered downward. He knew his expression gave him away, even if he hadn't felt the burning suddenly rising in his cheeks. His eyes shot back to Tigress' fiery irises and he bit his bottom lip.

Tigress slowly raised one elegant eyebrow in confusion. She finally looked down, following the panda's previous line of sight. She then appeared to freeze despite the fact she had already been completely still to begin with.

She had nothing on but her undergarment wraps.

Her head shot back up, her mask of stoicism perfectly in place. "Well, since all appears to be fine, I shall see you in the courtyard." With that, she turned on her heal and swiftly left the doorway.

Po finally swallowed hard as he stared at where she'd been standing. A few moments of complete silence passed. He then heard rustling from the other rooms, indicating the others were starting to move about.

"Gueh!" Po rushed to the door, slamming it shut and turning his back to it. He didn't lean on it like he wanted to, having learned from prior experience that it would give way easily under his weight. However, he did take a deep breath and lean his face into his paw. "This.. this morning has gone from terrifying to weird in one huge leap," he whispered.

He shook his head and finally walked back to the cot, picking up his blanket and starting to tidy up.

While he was perfectly capable of putting two and two together to figure out what Tigress looked like under her garments, he had to admit, he'd never actually considered what it would be like to see her without them. And he'd certainly never imagined it would happen so randomly. Though, he'd never had a reason to think it would happen purposefully either.

His motions paused as his mind replayed the moment unrequested. The image of Tigress's pure white midriff and perfectly aligned stripes floated from one side of his mind's eye to another.

Po shook his head again, his ears angling back as he mentally punched himself in the face. "Okay, time to get out of my head now," he muttered. He sat his now folded blanket on top of his pillow and righted the side table he'd knocked over with his fall. He then took a deep breath, his eyes darting to the middle of the wall. A small smile graced his lips.

The Yin Yang staff that Oogway had given him was glinting warmly in the sunlight.

It usually spent it's days right where it was mounted, soaking up sunlight and seeming to glow at all times, even when it was dark. He hadn't felt it would be a good idea to put it on display in the Hall of Heros, being that it wasn't really an old relic of an ancient master. Thought, admittedly, he was quite attached to it as well.

Po took a deep breath as he walked to the item, carefully picking it up from the stand he had it on. He smiled lightly to himself as he gave it a few spins. He then brought the Yin Yang head closer to him, poking at the miraculously suspended bead near the center. "I think I'll take you with me for today," he said quietly. "You haven't been out in a while anyway."

He twirled it again as he started for the door. He paused as he reached for the handle and looked to the staff again. "Why am I talking to?…" He raised an eyebrow before finally rolling his eyes and shrugging to himself. "Eh, I could have worse habits," he mused.

 **XoXoX**

"YAAHAHA! … EEEK … OH! OUCH! … UFF!"

"Po!" Tigress yelled, landing swiftly from her twisting backflip. "What is going on?" she asked breathlessly.

Po groaned as he rolled from his back, pushing himself to his knees. "I… nothing, I'm fine!" he responded, equally as breathless. He kept his eyes to the ground as he raised a knee, staying in a kneeling position for a moment of a rest. "I'm just, ah… you know," he glanced up, but not to anyone specifically. "You know, I'm-"

"Getting your butt kicked?" Mantis asked from his perch on Monkey's shoulder.

Po glanced up to him, seeing the both of them looking at him with knowing expressions. "Okay, guys-"

"Don't lie to us, Brother," came a soft voice from behind him.

Po straightened and turned, seeing Viper looking at him. Her eyes were shimmering, and it wasn't just because of the midday sun beating down on them in the training courtyard.

"Po," Crane suddenly spoke up, "we've been, well, _I've_ been, I haven't actually mentioned my thoughts to the others, but…"

Po looked to him with a raised brow and noticed concern melting into the bird's eyes.

"But, I've been keeping quiet for a while, because I thought you'd say something." Crane tilted his head. "But you haven't, so… I'm gonna say it now: Whatever is bothering you… you can talk to us about it."

Po raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked around to the rest of the Five. They all had a look of agreement on their faces, each one with differing levels of concern. He shook his head as he finally stood all the way up. "What are you talking about?" he asked in confusion. He watched as they all looked to one another, before Tigress finally leveled her gaze at him. He felt sudden nerves burble to life in his stomach at her piercing stare. It was similar to the one she'd used on him several years ago back in the Gongmen City jail.

"Po, do you really think we haven't noticed?" Tigress asked in a measured tone.

Po blinked repeatedly. "Okay, I… what?" He tilted his head, honest confusion melting into his expression.

Tigress raised an eyebrow. "What happened this morning… it wasn't the first time."

Po swallowed hard. "I um… I…" He finally averted his gaze, looking to his paws as he played with his finger.

"We can hear everything through the walls you know," Crane suddenly said. "They are made of paper."

Po's head shot up. "Wait, you guys have heard everything?!" He then covered his mouth and froze. His eyes darted to every single one of them, even Viper, who'd slithered up front to look at him with the others.

Monkey shifted his weight, glancing to Mantis on his shoulder. "Yah, Po. It's been going on for a month now," he said, looking up in concern.

Mantis clicked his foreclaws together. "I mean, even if we couldn't hear you through the walls, you haven't even been eating like normal, which is usually a good sign that something's up."

"That, and your training has been declining," Viper commented. "You seem more and more distracted and your moves have been getting less controlled and more reckless over time."

Po took a deep breath, looking around to every one of them before finally letting out a sigh. He raised a paw and scratched the back of his neck. "So, I'm not getting any harder to read then, huh?"

They all responded unanimously: "No."

He made a face and looked to the ground. "Right. Kay, so… the thing is…" he looked back up, then off to the side, fidgeting with his paws again. He looked back to Tigress, then blinked as a glint caught his eye. He leaned to the side to see his Yin Yang staff propped against the wall next to the entrance.

He clasped his paws together before heaving another heavy sigh. He looked to the ground and started forward. The others moved to the side as he walked to the bench. He turned and sat heavily. He kept his head angled down as the others came in closer to him. When he looked back up, the first eyes he met were those of Tigress.

She had knelt in front of him, her stoicism gone. She'd gotten good at letting her feelings show. At least where he was concerned.

Po smiled softly, but he could feel his own smile being marred by the sudden solemnness from deep down. He took a slow breath. "It's gonna sound stupid."

"Po," Mantis chuckled lightly, "You? Sound stupid? Seriously?"

Po raised an eyebrow. Mantis seemed to shrink, but Po chuckled all the same. "Yeah, well… it kinda feels stupid."

Viper slithered up the bench and patted his paw with her tail. "Nightmares aren't stupid, Brother."

Po smiled as he looked her in the eye. "Yeah well, the stupid part is, I can't even figure out why it's a nightmare."

"Oh?" Crane commented, tilting his head curiously.

Po nodded. "Yeah. You see," he looked down as he started to remember what he could, "in the dream, I'm running. I'm in the dark, and I'm running. I'm… I'm terrified, like, actual fear." He looked up to them, his eyes big. "The problem is, I can't see what I'm afraid of." He glanced about as they all displayed some form of confusion at the comment.

Tigress narrowed her eyes and flicked her ear curiously. "You can't see it or you don't know what it is?"

"Both," Po answered immediately. He huffed and looked to his paws clasped in his lap. "Every time I have the dream, which I think has been every night for the last week now, I'm in the dark. I'm running. I look to see what I'm running from, and… while I'm in the dream, I seem to know what it is. I recognize it immediately, I'm aware of the danger, and how real it is and…" he paused, "and… and I am absolutely afraid of it."

There was quiet for a few moments while they all seemed to consider his words.

Mantis raised a foreclaw. "Maybe it's like one of those, 'afraid of fear itself' metaphors," he suggested. "That's why you can't see what you're afraid of because you're running from fear itself?" He tilted his head.

Po was already shaking his. "No, that's definitely not it. Whatever it is, it's real. Well, in the dream that is. I can tell, while in the dream, that I am seeing and recognizing something real. But," he squeezed his fingers together tighter, "I just don't know what it is when I'm not _in_ the dream." He looked up. "If that makes sense," he finished quietly.

"Of course it does."

All eyes shot to the entrance of the courtyard to see Shifu, standing straight, eyes leveled directly to Po.

Po swallowed his nerves again. "It does?"

Shifu lowered his head, leveling a strict gaze to Po. "Yes. When your inner self is trying to warn you about something that you haven't yet faced, there is no way for you to comprehend what that is."

Tigress stood, curiosity written all over her features. "Master, have you been there the whole time?"

Shifu's face softened and he leaned against his staff. "Yes. I came to speak to the Dragon Warrior. But it looks like he started without me." He looked to Po with a small smile. Though, it appeared more rueful than happy.

Po stood immediately. "Wait, did you come to talk about my nightmare? Does everybody know!?"

Shifu chuckled. "Well, yes, everybody knows. You aren't a quiet sleeper," he glanced away. "However, I came more specifically to talk about…" he paused, his eyes drifting back to Po as a more serious demeanor overcame him, "… _our_ nightmares."

"WHAT!?" all six of them spoke collectively.

"No way! Shifu, you have nightmares?" Po asked incredulously, closing the distance between them.

Shifu flicked an ear as his expression took on annoyance. "Yes, I _have had_ nightmares. Why do you think I used to be so grumpy? Half the time it was because I couldn't sleep." He shook his head, switching the staff from his right paw to his left. "But _this_ time, it's different. This time," he looked to Po earnestly, "I think it is more serious."

 **XoXoX**

He took a deep breath, moisture and the smell of mountain rock and moss permeated the air. It was one of the little things he loved about the Dragon Grotto.

Shifu opened his eyes, regarding the large dragon sculpture above him. He then blinked rapidly as he heard the muted shuffling behind him. He sighed. He knew Po was anxious to hear from him. He'd been fidgety the whole time during their walk, and even tried to ask questions, but Shifu was having none of it.

He wanted to talk to Po in complete privacy.

He gripped his staff tighter as the unease tried to creep back up his spine. It was strange and didn't sit well in his stomach. And what was more, with Po having similar issues, he couldn't say nothing and assume coincidence. The dreams, the ever-growing sense of something just not quite right… this was something real.

Shifu took another deep breath and finally turned, seeing Po sitting at the edge of the water across from him. Po had that innocent curiosity on his face that made him seem so young. Shifu quirked a slight smile. "So. Now that we're alone-"

"You're gonna tell me about the dreams right?" Po cut him off leaning forward quickly.

Shifu suppressed a note of annoyance as he went to continue, but the new expression on Po's face caused him to pause. The panda wasn't excited or enthusiastic as he usually was during mysterious circumstances. Shifu blinked as he observed nothing less than blatant concern. He swallowed sudden nerves. "Yes. Yes, that's what I dragged you here for."

"Okay, I understand," Po said quickly, almost cutting him off again. "let's just get this out there and figure this out. You did hear me spill all of my dream right?" he asked quickly.

Shifu blinked rapidly before nodding. "Yes, yes I did," he answered, leaning on his staff.

"Okay, so is your dream anything like mine?" Po asked.

Shifu lowered his gaze as he recalled his own experience. "Not exactly, but it is similar." He gripped his staff with both paws, his brows furrowing. "I… I too am in darkness. But I'm not running. In fact, I can't move at all. It is as if I am paralyzed entirely, only my eyes and my ears working for me. Or, they would be if I could see or hear anything," he noted, glancing to the side. "I seem to be laying on the ground and it seems to be extremely cold. I'm immobilized, only able to breathe and blink. And then…" he paused, his eyelids fluttering as the sensations rushed back to his mind, "… in the darkness, I somehow see something above me." His eyes shot to Po's. "Something I recognize, something that is real… and something that strikes utter fear into my heart."

Po straightened up, the concern in his expression growing. "But then-"

"But then I wake up," Shifu said, cutting Po off. He looked away and heaved a sigh. "I wake up. I'm shaken, confused," he again leveled his gaze to Po, "and I have no idea what it is in the dream that has me so frightened."

Po swallowed hard.

Shifu looked away, turning back to the dragon sculpture above them. "I had thought, perhaps, it was just a random occurrence. That it would go away in time, and fade from memory as many dreams do. But it didn't." He looked down to the rippling surface of the water. "It came back periodically, every other night or so. And now, for the last several nights in a row, I have had this same dream." He shook his head. "It is the same dream every time. And it always ends with what would seem to be my death." He then shrugged, turning back. "Of course, that is merely an assumption, since I always jolt into the waking world at the key moment."

Po looked away, lowering his gaze to the water as he seemed to think on Shifu's words. He then looked back up, bright green eyes meeting cool blue. "What do we do about this?"

Shifu nodded slowly. "It is clear that this is something real, something that needs to be addressed. The key is to determine what this is, for without knowing one's adversary, what or whoever it may be, then one can never hope to overcome it."

Po tilted his head. "So, you think this is, like, our minds trying to tell us something before we know it?"

"Yes, that is exactly what it is," Shifu said without a shadow of a doubt. His gaze then softened as he saw the confusion on Po's face. "Something to keep in mind, Dragon Warrior," he started, a smile crossing his lips, "you have become more at one with the flow of the universe in these last few years, and through you, so have I. That being the case, it is only natural that an inner part of ourselves would be more aware of something bigger and out of our current sphere of knowledge," he explained.

Po tilted his head the other way, still seeming confused. "But, what about the Five? They are just as at one with the universe, aren't they? I mean, sometimes Tigress, pfff," he shrugged before catching Shifu's eyes. He stalled, his eyes wide.

Shifu raised an eyebrow. "They are grand at what they do, Po. But _you_ are the Dragon Warrior. You have instincts and understandings that they can only _imagine_." Shifu smirked. "Even if you aren't fully aware of them all yet."

Po averted his gaze, clasping his paws in his lap. "Well, even if we want to go _that_ far, what about _you?_ " His eyes darted back curiously.

Shifu frowned as his ears fell. "I don't spend so much time in this cave for nothing, Po," he stated flatly.

"Oh! Right, right," Po said, sitting up straighter. He then huffed and nodded. "Okay, so, we know that our minds are trying to warn us about something. And we don't know what it is." He nodded again. He looked to Shifu with a raised brow. "Soooo, how do we figure out what it is?"

Shifu straightened up. "One word," he said, "Meditate."

Po's reaction was instantaneous. "Ooohhaaaghh, I _knew_ you were gonna say that!" he exclaimed, slouching exaggeratedly.

Shifu resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Po. Meditation is the only way to focus your mind enough to-"

"Shifu, you know I'm horrible at meditation!" Po said, his shoulders slumped. "I always suddenly get hungry, can't sit still, sit on every stray pebble in the worst way, or just fall asleep."

Shifu felt his eyelids flutter as he again resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "We don't have much of a choice. You're going to have to figure out how to make it work."

Po looked to him with an indignant expression similar to a child being told to do something they don't like. He then huffed and leaned back, flopping to the ground and sprawling his limbs wide.

Shifu stared at him blankly, resisting the urge to both roll his eyes and sigh in aggravation. He flicked his ear and raised a brow, deciding to pose a question instead. "Okay then, tell me this… if you _really_ don't think meditation will help, do you have any better suggestions?" Po didn't answer, a frustrated expression taking over his face. Shifu nodded. "That's what I tho-"

"Well…"

Shifu raised his ears curiously.

Po sat back up and looked back to the water. He then tilted his head.

Shifu narrowed his eyes as he regarded the younger master. Po had that sudden flicker in his gaze that usually meant he was on to something.

Po seemed intensely interested in the water, seeming lost in the soft languid motions of the surface. He looked up to Shifu. "We could try sparring."

Shifu leaned against his staff as his shoulders slumped. "Sparring? You think sparring will help?"

"Well, hold on, hear me out," Po started, "I know you say meditation is important and all, but I've never really had a great revelation or knowing moment by doing _actual_ meditation. Usually, when something occurs to me, when I figure stuff out, is when I'm fighting, or right in the middle of stuff. You know," he stood, throwing a couple punches, "like, doing stuff, moving around, actually you know…" he looked around, as if at a loss for words, "… being in the middle of the action."

Shifu stared at him. "In the middle of the action?" he asked blankly. Po nodded. Shifu shook his head. "Po, we don't even know where or what the action is."

"I know, I know," Po said, holding his hands up. He then looked behind him and grabbed his Yin Yang staff from it's place propped against a rock. "But maybe actually doing something, physically moving around and focusing our minds on an actual thing, you know, like technique and body control will help spark something." He looked to Shifu hopefully. He then looked away and at his staff, running his fingers over the surface lightly. "Well, maybe that's just for me…"

Shifu took a breath to respond. He then let it out slowly as he regarded Po. The young master looked up to him, his eyes both curious and cautious at the same time. Shifu held his gaze for a moment before looking down to the water as Po had. He then raised an eyebrow, watching the slow ripples and lazy waves mar the surface. "So… when you say sparring," he glanced back up, "do you mean training? Practice fighting?"

Po shook his head. "No, no, that's probably too distracting," he said with a shrug. "I was thinking more along the lines of something more… you know, structured. Like when showing newbies how to take stance-"

"As in walking through the motions," Shifu interrupted. "Slow and deliberate, focusing on form…"

Po tilted his head then nodded. "Yeah, something like that!" he said with a smile. He then looked down. "I used to be bad at that, like you know, but," he looked back up, "working with the kids like I have, and helping the other people of the valley that attend the public gatherings, I've kind of gotten better at it. It's even kind of relaxing," he stated, his expression soft as he looked away. "Maybe it'll help." He then shrugged. "Well, like I said. Maybe it'll just help me out." He looked around, examining the other portions of the grotto. "I mean, I could pick a spot somewhere and try it out while you go to work there on your little island thing-"

"No, no," Shifu raised a paw and shook his head. "No need for that. I…" he looked to Po thoughtfully. "I, um... We could try it, I think. Why not? It can't hurt anything."

"Really?" Po asked in surprise, an excited gleam in his eyes. He then straightened and narrowed his eyes. "Wait, really?" he asked suspiciously.

Shifu could have laughed. He refrained, but he did smile. He gripped his staff with both paws and heaved a sigh, his smile lowering a fraction. "Well… truth is, Po, I do nothing _but_ meditate when I'm in here. That's why I'm here after all." He looked around the grotto for emphasis. "I come here for seclusion, the opportunity to be alone and with my own thoughts." He looked to Po, solemnness overtaking his expression. "But if I am to be honest with myself, and you," his gaze dropped, "I haven't been doing a very good job of it lately." He heard Po's breath hitch.

"Really?" the panda asked again.

Shifu chuckled at that, looking back up. He sighed. "Really. I thought perhaps your presence might help, don't ask me how," he said with a sideways glance, "but, I thought with you having the same issues, indicating us sensing the same problem, perhaps us meditating together could help. Maybe our energies could work off each other, or… something to that effect." Shifu looked away, surprised by his own inarticulation of the subject.

"Well, maybe they can!" Po said with a positive note. "Maybe some careful sparring will jar something along, get the mind juices flowing," he said with a smile.

Shifu looked him over and smirked. "Alright. Just don't say 'mind juices' again." He shook his head. "Let's see where this takes us." With that, he lifted his staff and hopped over the water, coming to stand in front of Po. He looked at him expectantly.

Po grinned and twirled his own staff a few rounds. He took a footing but then glanced about as his enthusiasm faded. "Okay, wait, so," he looked to Shifu with slight confusion, "how do we start?"

Shifu raised his brow in response. "You came up with this idea, Dragon Warrior. You tell me," he said with a smirk. He took his own footing, sliding his right foot back and setting the foot of his staff to the ground.

Po raised his eyebrows then bent his knees, lowering his mass. His face got thoughtful for a moment before he smiled, that spark coming back to his eyes. "Okay, lets start with you defensive and me offensive."

Shifu nodded and lowered his own mass, picking his staff up and holding it to his side, waiting for the deliberate strike.

Po stepped forward, bringing his staff up with a slow twirling motion. He brought it down, aiming as if going for Shifu's head.

Shifu moved with the same slow pace, raising his own staff and swinging it horizontally in front of him, as if to block.

Po allowed his staff to continue on it's path, the length of it gently touching the length of Shifu's as opposed to striking it.

Shifu then tilted his staff upwards, redirecting Po's as he started the motion of spinning on his leading foot. He slowly allowed his body to rotate, lifting his leg as if to go for a kick to Po's belly.

Po reached his paw down, his forearm moving to receive the brunt of the fake kick. He then shifted his weight on his own feet, going for a slow spin of his own.

They continued their moves; slow, deliberate, even predictable. They ran through several stances and even several styles, slowly but surely losing track of time as their focus shifted solely to their actions and movements.

While his attention was completely focused on the moment, Shifu couldn't help but feel, in the back of his mind, that this was in fact relaxing. He hadn't done standard stance practice in some time, even during Po's teachings at the public gatherings. He'd forgotten how therapeutic it could be.

 _While he's taught me something yet again, this doesn't seem to be doing what he intended,_ Shifu thought, watching as Po went into a low spin, swinging his staff as if to swipe Shifu's feet from under him. Instead of pretending to jump in slow motion, Shifu waited for the staff to make it to him. He made to jump, but then paused, the slowness of the progression making him wonder if he should just step over it.

That pause seemed to be all that was needed to break their flow.

Po stopped immediately and looked to Shifu. "Uh oh, what's wrong?"

Shifu took a breath and huffed lightly. "Nothing actually, I just started thinking too much, I think," he answered truthfully.

"Oh," Po stood. "Was I going too slow with that one?" he asked.

Shifu chuckled. "Actually, yes, I think you were."

Po smiled and scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I kinda had that thought right as I was doing it." He shrugged. "You wanna try again, and I'll just go normal speed for that part?"

Shifu considered it, again wondering if this was really going anywhere. He then shrugged himself. "Well, sure, why not?" While he had reservations about continuing, he also had to concede that they hadn't been at it for too very long. Perhaps all they needed was more time?

Po nodded with a smile. "Okay, lets restart a couple moves back and I'll call it when I'm gonna go normal speed."

Shifu smiled back. "Very well."

Po and Shifu took stance. Po started his movements and Shifu immediately recognized where he was starting from. As Po moved, Shifu countered, repeating the exact same motions they'd just done. One more swing, one more block. Shifu focused his mind, already preparing.

"Here we go!" Po said. He continued again with his low spin, this time moving with speed.

Shifu jumped as expected and swung his staff up then down, aiming for Po's head, just barely remembering that the speed was only supposed to be on Po's side. Po blocked with ease, however, and redirected Shifu's strike. He then turned his back on Shifu, stabbing the staff into the ground.

Shifu recognized what he was going to do and instinctively jumped, flipping back and away from the swing kick that Po was about to perform by spinning on the staff. He landed on the tall rock that had been behind him and looked up with a smirk, a snarky retort ready on his lips. Only… there was suddenly no Po to snap playfully at.

He was gone.

Shifu stood straight, his ears up as he looked around. Nothing in the water or behind the rocks. He looked over to the dragon sculpture, turned and looked behind him, angled his head to the ceiling. His breath hitched and a sliver of panic shot through him. "P-Po?" he called. It was then that a glimmer caught his eye. He looked to where Po had been standing and only then realized that the Yin Yang staff was still there.

And standing on it's own.

Shifu hopped from the rock, jumping to the staff in a flash. His breath caught in his throat as he looked to the Yin Yang head and noticed it glowing faintly with a warm, golden light. His eyes widened. "Po… the Spirit Realm!"

Shifu immediately darted away, running to the large bell he had mounted at the edge of the outcrop. He grabbed the padded hammer and hurriedly banged on it's surface, pounding out the exact count that he used to summon the Five.

He then darted back to the staff as fast as his legs would carry him. He had no reason to expect the others would be able to assist in any way. But this was definitely not something he wanted to try to handle on his own. "Po," he whispered quietly, holding onto his own staff tightly, "what's happened?"

 **XoXoX**

It was quiet. Very quiet. Except for the feint impression of ringing bells. And maybe a flute?

Po gasped loudly, his eyes flying open. He flailed his arms and legs as he looked about, seeing a pristinely flat surface below him reflecting gold light. He looked at his limbs and body and saw a very familiar garment. He reached for the hat on his head as he looked up to see large floating rock monoliths, glimpses of building bits, temple tiers and various other debris, all floating languidly while drenched in that same golden light from the lake. "The Spirit Realm!?" he called out. He then stiffened as he heard chuckling behind him. He looked, turning with difficulty, to see none other than master Oogway himself. He couldn't help but smile as the old tortoise opened his eyes and regarded him with a gaze far warmer than the surrounding light. "Master Oogway!"

Oogway smiled as well. "Dragon Warrior," he greeted, bowing his head. "It is good to see you!"

Po looked around. Seeing as there was no boat this time, he raised his arms and lowered his legs, touching the surface of the lake with his feet. He pushed off of it and angled himself forward, propelling himself towards the tiny island and the old master who resided there. "It's good to see you, too!" Po said, looking back up as he used his arms to balance. "But, I gotta admit, I didn't think I'd be seeing you again so soon."

Oogway chuckled again, uncrossing his legs and touching his feet to the ground of his little island. "Well, that is to be expected. You didn't make it here by _your_ choice this time," he commented. He raised his arm, reaching something out towards the panda.

Po realized it was a flute that looked to be made completely out of Jade. He then realized why Oogway was holding it out. He reached for it, gripping the end. Oogway pulled, guiding Po to the island surface. Po touched his feet to the ground, secretly relieved to be touching something solid. However, he could still feel the weightlessness around him, especially being that his cape was still floating. He grinned regardless and looked to Oogway, punching his fist to his paw as he bowed.

Oogway merely chuckled lightly in response.

Po straightened back up, clasping his fingers together as he looked back to the master. "So… do you know how I got here?" he asked timidly.

"Of course," Oogway said brightly. "I brought you here."

Po stared. "You… I…" he tilted his head. "How?" he asked incredulously.

Oogway chuckled again, the warm sound reverberating around them. "Your staff! It is your key to the Spirit Realm."

Po's eyes widened almost comically. "Wooow, no way!" he hollered, grinning from ear to ear with excitement. "You mean I can use it to travel back and forth?"

"Well, maybe not at will," Oogway said with a tilt of his head, "but when you are most in need, it will allow for it."

Po punched the air with hardly contained excitement. "That's so _awesome!_ "

Oogway chuckled again. "Totally," he commented.

Po looked back to the old master and his excitement started to fade as Oogway gazed at him with knowing eyes. He blinked as his mind finally started to catch on. "Wait… that means I _need_ to be here?" he asked. He then raised an eyebrow as he looked at Oogway in curiosity. "But, you said you brought me here."

Oogway nodded sagely. "That is right, Dragon Warrior." He turned, walking slowly towards the island's tree. "I brought you here because you need to be here."

Po watched Oogway walk and started after him, worry starting to tug at his heart. "Why do I need to be here, and how did you know?" he asked.

Oogway let out that soft chuckle again. "Well of course I know. We are all woven together by the threads of the universe," he said, looking up and gesturing around them, "I could sense the unease in the hearts of both you and Shifu."

Po stopped short at those words. He watched as Oogway continued for another step before turning back to him. "You… you could sense we were having nightmares."

Oogway regarded him with those warm eyes. Only now they held a hint of something else. "You know those were no nightmares," he said softly.

All of Po's previous excitement dropped to his feet like a ton of bricks. He swallowed hard. "Shifu said they are warnings… our minds sensing something dangerous we don't know about yet," he said in a small voice.

Oogway nodded slowly. "That is correct, young warrior."

Po looked down, anxiety filling his chest as he tried to fathom the fact that master Oogway himself was telling him what Shifu already had. He forced himself to take a deep breath when realization sparked in his mind like a bolt of lightning. "Wait!" His eyes shot back to Oogway's as he closed the distance between them. "Can you sense it too? Is that what this is about? Why you brought me here? Do you know what it is?" he asked all in one breath.

Oogway's warm demeanor was back and he chuckled that soft little laugh again. "Now, now," he said, waving a paw, "that would be telling!" He turned and started towards the tree again.

Po stared after him. He then blinked rapidly and shook his head, following behind. "But, if you didn't bring me here to tell me what this great danger is, then why _did_ you bring me here?" he asked, trying not to sound frustrated.

"Because, Dragon Warrior," Oogway said, his shell still to the panda, "it was never my duty to tell you what you must come to face on your own time, nor even to warn you of it, if we must be honest." He crested the small rise in the ground around the roots of the tree before bending down lowly. "However, it _is_ my obligation to provide you a way to your answers." He stood, something large in his paws. He then turned, bringing the object within sight.

Po looked down at it in awe. Only to feel his face fall in confusion.

It looked like a large rectangular box, the material indistinguishable from wood or stone. It was colored muddy gold along the outside trim and the inner panels seemed to be stained a deep red. It had some sort of symbols or carvings etched into the panel surfaces, but what they were or what they depicted was unrecognizable. What made the box even more strange was that there appeared to be no way to open it. There were no visible keyholes or outside locks.

Po looked up to Oogway in confusion. "What is it?"

"It is the Key!" Oogway answered enigmatically.

Po tilted his head slowly. "… Huh?"

Oogway chuckled again. "It is the Key that will unlock all the answers you seek. Well," he then tilted his head away. "It is _part_ of the key."

"Part of the key?" Po asked in question, already thoroughly lost.

Oogway nodded, looking back to him. "The second part to be exact," he said with a smile. "The _first_ part is in the Mortal Realm."

Po stared yet again. He looked at the box then back to Oogway's spirited green eyes. "So… this is a key to our answers? And half of it is in the Mortal Realm?"

Oogway nodded happily. "Yes, exactly, Dragon Warrior," he said brightly. He stepped forward, nudging the box to Po.

Po reached out, wrapping his paws underneath it. When Oogway removed his, he was surprised to find that the item hardly weighed anything, as if he were simply holding a pillow. He looked up with a question on his tongue but stopped short at the expression on Oogway's face.

Oogway looked sad.

Po could only stare once more as his mind tried to comprehend the sight. He'd never seen Oogway sad. Not once.

Oogway then looked up from the box, his eyes meeting Po's. He smiled, thought the sadness was still evident in his gaze. "You will find what you seek far to the south. Deep in the dry and the frayed. A blue ribbon is all that will guide you, and the green gem will glow like home."

Po's mouth dropped open. "What?"

Oogway hummed softly, his smile still present, before turning away.

"Wait, what?" Po asked, almost panicking in his confusion.

"Po?"

Po's breath hitched. This whole time he'd been 'Dragon Warrior' or 'Young Warrior'. Even when Oogway had been alive, he had seemed to instinctively _know_ Po by heart, and had never even said his name. It never seemed to have been needed. But suddenly, there it was, like a leaf in the wind. Po swallowed his anxiety. "Y-yes?"

Oogway bent down again, picking his flute up from the ground. "Remember… doing the right thing is not always easy. In fact, it is sometimes the hardest thing you will ever do." He turned back around, his eyes heavy and his expression sagely. "But that does not make it any less right."

Po was lost for words. He didn't understand. It wasn't Oogway's words that were so confusing. It was his sudden change in demeanor. His heavy expression, his suddenly slouching posture, even his grip on his own flute, tight but almost appearing weak. Po swallowed hard as he opened his mouth to respond. Oogway was faster, however.

"You do understand that… right, Po?" he asked, his voice quiet and soft.

Po was so taken aback and so inwardly distraught by the sight and the question that all he wanted to do was to toss the box to the side and hug the old master. The whole thing was completely opposite of what he knew and so strange to his own consciousness.

However, no action came. No reckless movements, no possible mishandling of sensitive items. Instead, Po closed his mouth and swallowed his rampant nerves through his dry mouth as best he could. He then nodded, his eyes never leaving Oogway's. "Yes, Master," he said hoarsely. "I do understand."

Oogway smiled then. A bright and warm smile. He even appeared… relieved.

The old master nodded, taking a deep breath of his own as he looked back to the flute in his paws. "Good. I am glad," he said cryptically.

Po glanced away then back, only to freeze on the spot.

How Oogway had managed to move in that split second of time, he wasn't sure, but suddenly Po was staring down one of Oogway's long talons. "Uh…"

Oogway smiled again, warm and comforting, the sudden solemnness that had overtaken him previously now conspicuously gone. "I have given you all that I can, Dragon Warrior. The rest," he winked, "is up to you." With that, he touched his talon to Po's forehead.

The total weightlessness suddenly returned. With it, came the sound of rushing water.

 **XoXoX**

Mantis flicked an antenna as he kept his eyes glued to the Yin Yang staff still standing of it's own volition. "Five minutes," he called.

Shifu angled his ear towards Mantis then back against his head as he looked into the water. The Five had made it up to the grotto in sixty seconds flat. It had taken only a few moments for him to sputter the short version of what had happened. It had taken only an instant for them all to sink into grim apprehension.

A trip to the Spirit Realm shouldn't create such a dark mood. However, considering Po's first and last venture there, it seemed the mood couldn't be helped.

No one had any idea what to do, especially since all looked to Shifu as the expert. Shifu, of course, was completely clueless. So, it was unanimously decided, without even the need to speak it, to stand watch. Though, Shifu did give one instruction: They would wait for an hour. If an hour of time came and went without any noticeable change, then they would start to really worry and seek outside help. Until that came to pass, it was decided to wait.

Each had picked a place. Monkey and Crane chose to sit next to Shifu and watch the water with him. Viper, Tigress and Mantis took up positions around and watching the Yin Yang staff, each one calling out something different that might be important. Mantis the time, Viper the brightness of the glow as it changed periodically, and Tigress the random moments where it seemed to flicker.

They had gone on this way for, as Mantis had called out, five minutes now.

Viper tilted her head up as her tongue flicked the air habitually. She tilted her head the other way. "It's getting brighter," she announced.

"She's right," Tigress commented, moving from her seated position.

As all eyes turned to observe, the Yin Yang head suddenly glowed with brilliant intensity, like a ray of sunlight cutting through the clouds. Before any of them could act on their instinct to move back…

"YEEEA-OWW!" Po suddenly appeared and tumbled from a spot near the staff head, flipping forward as he fell to the ground, rolling into a seated upright position. He shook his head as the staff finally stopped glowing and fell to the ground behind him. "Wow!" he exclaimed.

"PO!"

All the others leaped towards him, Shifu approaching with a bit more reserve than the Five, and bombarded him with hugs and comments of concern.

"Guys, guys, I'm fine!" Po said with a grin, waving off every one of them, though leaning into their comforting embraces all the same. "But you won't believe what happened!"

Shifu finally found his voice. "You were in the Spirit Realm."

"Yeah," Po said, "And you won't believe what Oogway told me-"

"You spoke with Oogway?!" Shifu asked incredulously.

"Yes," Po answered with an enthusiastic nod.

"Does it have to do with the box?" Crane suddenly asked.

Po looked down at the red and gold item in his lap. "Ooooh yeah." He went to lift it and suddenly found it much heavier than before. "Oi! This weighed a lot less back in the Spirit Realm!"

Shifu walked up, the others making room for him as he came to look at the box. "Did Oogway give this to you?" He looked up with concerned eyes.

Po returned the look of concern in earnest. "Yeah. And it has to do with our not-so-little problem."

 **XxXxX**

* * *

 **Thank you for the read! Have a good day or night and a wonderful time~***


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Kung Fu Panda, nor am I in any way affiliated with it's creators. All belongs to DreamWorks.**

 **I only claim the storyline and OC's.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2~***

"That's IT! I give up!"

All eyes turned to Master Mantis flailing his foreclaws as he glared angrily at the box under his feet.

"There is NO way to open this thing, no key whole, no latches, no buttons, no secret pull thread, nothing!" he hollered angrily.

"Keep trying," Shifu responded from his perch atop one of the many shelves of the scroll room. "There is no reason for Oogway to have summoned Po into the Spirit Realm just to give us a box that we can't open."

Po rolled his eyes as he continued shifting through the many scrolls littering the ground. He could have sworn he heard the others do the same. Or was that just Mantis's indiscriminate grumbling?

They had been in the palace scroll room for hours now, looking through the countless scrolls, charts and tablets trying to find something helpful either for the location Oogway had vaguely described or for clues as to how to open the mysterious box. Needless to say, they hadn't found much. And while Mantis had been tasked with the responsibility of trying to unlock the box, Crane had taken it upon himself to study the several maps they had stored along the far wall.

Each map was a massive full picture map of China mounted on a fabric canvas framed by bamboo holders, each one linked to the wall on swivels so they could be pulled away to reveal the next equally sized map. Each map, while depicting the same view of China, illustrated a different yet important facet of information about their great country. From the great mountain ranges, to the countless cities and villages, to the forestry, population masses, and even military outposts. The whole construction had been a gift from an artisan village many years ago, who's residents had been saved by the masters of the Jade Palace from raid and destruction by a particularly nasty group of rogues. The maps didn't come into much use on a regular basis, but now they were proving their worth.

"Far to the south," Crane muttered, perched on the step-ladder that most others used to reach the tall constructions. "Far to the south, far to the south… why does that strike a chord," he whispered, keen eyes glued to the current visage in front of him. It was a map of the forestry and landmasses.

No one else heard his mutterings however, all busy with their respective tasks.

Monkey groaned from his position on the opposite side of the room. "What are we looking for again?" he whined, his bottom half buried in the unrolled scrolls he'd managed to get his paws on.

Shifu looked down to him mid-reach, pausing in his digging through of a particularly unvisited cubby. "You know what we're looking for, and I will personally hide your almond cookies if you even _think_ about leaving this room without rolling all those back up."

"I know what we're looking for, but what are we _looking_ for?" Monkey asked without much clarity. "All we have is a riddle with no answer and a box with no key!"

Shifu took a breath so speak but was interrupted before he could get a word out.

"The riddle _is_ the answer," Crane said loudly from his perch. "I think he was giving us actual directions to a physical place, we just have to understand what his words mean."

All eyes looked from him and to one another before landing expectantly on Po. Po's eyes were still aimed at Crane.

"Well yeah, but half of the riddle doesn't make any sense," he countered. "Far to the south, I get, but a blue ribbon will guide you and a gem will glow like home? What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, throwing his arms up in frustration.

Crane said nothing for a moment, his eyes never wavering. "Well, that's the question, now isn't it?"

Po tightened his lips and resisted the urge to sigh.

"More importantly," Mantis interjected, "I stand by my conclusion that there is no way to open this box," he said, stomping on it stubbornly.

Po looked to him and hung his head to the side. "Mantis-"

"Maybe the first part is a key!" Monkey suddenly interrupted.

Po shook his head but Viper beat him to it. "Monkey, why would we be sent to find a key to unlock a 'Key'?" she asked, slithering free from under several scrolls she herself had been buried under.

"Well, there has to be some way to open it," Monkey countered.

"Agreed. I mean, just because it sounds funny, doesn't mean it isn't right," Mantis concurred. "Find the key to open the Key, that's not too weird," he said, leaning down to tap the box again, angling his head to listen to the noise.

Po shook his head again. "No, no, we aren't being sent to find a 'key for the Key', Oogway didn't make it sound like that. And if that was the case, why not just tell us?" He asked with a shrug. "He doesn't have to be cryptic about that."

Shifu launched himself from his high perch to land on the table with Mantis. "That still does not answer the question of _what_ we are looking for," he said, leveling his gaze to Po.

Po sighed. "That's true." He looked back to the box as Mantis continued his tap and listen routine. He looked continuously frustrated and dissatisfied. Po tilted his head as he looked to the box, crossing his arms as he examined it again. He tapped his fingers on his arm as he thought. He then stiffened as he felt a familiar sensation running up his back.

Viper popped her head over his shoulder and looked to him curiously. "Are you alright, Brother?"

Po relaxed as he looked to her with a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just trying to figure out how you'd open a box that can't be opened."

Viper nodded and looked to the box herself. "Good thing we have Mantis with his tiny claws. Although, he's been at it this whole time. Maybe someone else should give it a try for a while and give him a break," she suggested.

Po nodded and looked away. "Yeah, let's get another person on tha..." he stopped short as his eyes went wide.

Viper looked to him in concern, as did Shifu who'd overheard him. "Brother?" Viper questioned.

Po uncrossed his arms and waved his hands about. "That's it!" he yelled. Everyone looked to him. He looked around at their blank and confused stares and bobbed up and down in place, hardly deterred by the bouncing weight of Viper along his shoulders. "That's it guys! What opens a box other than a key?" They stared with even more confusion. Po could have sighed in exasperation but he was too excited with his realization. "A person! A person opens a box!"

"Well duh!" Mantis said, his tiny shoulders slouching. "We're people and we're _trying_ to open the box, and we can't."

Po shook his head and walked forward, waving his hands again. "No, no, that's not what I mean! _We_ can't open the box, not because it needs a key, but because we don't know _how!_ If there is a how, that means someone _knows_ the how, which means we just need the right _person_ who has the know how to open the box! The first part of the 'Key' is a person! Because without that person, we can't open the box!"

All eyes glanced around to one another, excluding Crane's as he'd looked back to his map.

Shifu finally crossed his arms, keeping his right hand free to stroke his goatee in thought. "Okay… if we put that on the table… there's a chance it could be valid."

"Oh, come on, Shifu!" Po said, a smile still on his face. "It makes perfect sense! I mean, think about it, why else would the first half be in the Mortal Realm? We still haven't answered that question!"

Tigress finally spoke up, tossing a scroll to the side as she leveled her gaze to Po. "Say we go with that line of thought, that we are looking for a person, that doesn't make it any easier because we don't have any idea who we're looking for."

Po's enthusiasm faded slightly as he looked to the ground. "Well-"

"Who isn't as important as where," Crane suddenly interrupted.

They all looked to see him hovering over the maps, flapping his wings carefully as he grabbed at the frame of the current visage with his feet. He flicked it back and it swung languidly in a wide arch before gently tapping the wall to the side. The new visage revealed was the extensive river and tributary map. Crane then moved away, dropping down to the cabinet that held supplies for the maps. He opened one of the thin top drawers that contained marking powders specially made by the artisan village's craftsman; made so as not to damage the surfaces and so it would be easily removable. He dipped a talon into the red powder and jumped back into the air, flying back to a spot along the southern region. He drew a circle and moved back, landing on the top of the ladder.

"There," he said with finality, looking back to all of them.

"There?" Shifu asked, looking at the spot in question.

"How do you know?" Monkey asked, digging himself out of his pile of scrolls to move closer.

"Like I said," Crane looked back to the map. "the riddle was the answer. 'Far to the south, deep in the dry and the frayed'." Crane pointed his talon. "Going south to this whole region here it's dry and arid, nothing much grows and there isn't much to see. Then, 'a blue ribbon is all that will guide you'. If you look there," he pointed again, gesturing to and around the spot he'd circled, "there is a tiny river that runs right through this area, all by itself. There are no other landmarks or indicative structures."

Po raised an eyebrow. "What about 'the green gem will glow like home'?" he asked.

Crane glanced to him then back to the map, shaking his head. "Not sure about that one yet, actually."

Tigress crossed her arms, her sharp eyes looking at the map. "And why did you circle that particular spot? There is a long stretch of land that the river covers."

Crane raised a feathery eyebrow as he looked back to them. "Because. There's a village there."

Everyone made a noise or motion of surprise.

"No there isn't," Shifu argued in confusion. "There's nothing on _any_ map about a village there, not even the one we have here."

Crane shrugged. "It's not very noteworthy, and I'm kinda surprised that it's even there. It's more like a graveyard if you ask me, cuz they don't have any crops or anything. It's all dirt and dried up grass."

"Wait, have you been there?" Mantis asked in astonishment.

"No, just passed by," Crane answered. "You were with me," he then noted in a flat voice.

"What!? When?" Mantis shot back.

"I dunno, maybe five years ago."

The room suddenly went quiet.

"Wait," Mantis flicked an antenna and raised a foreclaw as he stared at Crane. "Five years ago? You mean, like, when we were tracking Kai?"

Crane raised his eyebrow again. "Yep. We flew right by it." He then shrugged. "Honestly though, I'm not surprised you missed it. I don't even know how I saw it." He looked back at the map again. "It just looked like a smattering of old abandoned houses and dried up land. Except I saw people, so I realized it wasn't so abandoned."

"How come you didn't say anything?!" Mantis asked loudly, gesturing his foreclaws in disbelief.

"It didn't seem important!" Crane retorted. He shrugged again. "Apparently, mapmakers don't think so either since it's not on any maps."

Shifu crossed his arms again, once more stroking his goatee in thought. "You said it looked abandoned. Perhaps it's on older maps."

Viper raised her head up above Po's, regarding the map carefully herself. "Perhaps it was abandoned by most of it's people long ago because of drought," she suggested. "And then forgotten."

"Maybe it's because it's abandoned that it's our goal," Tigress suddenly interjected.

"Oh?" Shifu asked, ears flicking curiously. "How so?"

"If it's an object, maybe it's buried there, long forgotten and hidden by time," she responded. "If it's a person, maybe they hide there because they know it's unknown."

"That's assuming they have a reason to hide," Po said, crossing his arms in thought.

"Maybe they need to hide because of what's inside the box," Monkey said quietly.

The mood of the room shifted at those words.

Po looked around and laughed compulsively. "Guys, why would Oogway give us a box that's got something dangerous in it?" he asked, uncrossing his arms and gesturing to them curiously. "After all, he said this was the Key to facing the… whatever, me and Shifu are dreaming about…" he finished awkwardly.

Shifu raised an eyebrow nearly to the ceiling at the comment, but nodded none-the-less. "Po has a point. Oogway is our messenger, there is no reason to fear this box or what it may hold. It is our answer to what lies ahead."

"Our Key to the answers," Po corrected with a small smile.

Shifu made a face of annoyance at him and flicked an ear, but the expression fluttered away quickly. "That settles it then. Being the best lead we have, that is your first destination."

Monkey suddenly leaned up on the table, close to Shifu. "But what about the last part of the riddle?"

"And how are we gonna carry this thing?" Mantis asked, tapping the surface again. "It's heavier than it looks."

Shifu held up a paw. "Firstly, the last part of the riddle may be found out when you get there. Or you may have to figure it out on the way. Either way, it's importance isn't as high as the information we now have. Secondly, you aren't taking the box with you."

"We aren't?" Po asked suddenly.

"No." Shifu looked at him with stern eyes. "This box came from the Spirit Realm, from Oogway's own paws. We aren't going to go carrying it around like it's a toy." He glanced around to everyone and shook his head at their combined looks of confusion and curiosity. "None of us know what it holds, but it's obviously important. And while I believe it is not dangerous, I still do not think it is wise to carry it around. And besides, I do not want to risk exposing it to curious eyes who may develop other ideas for it."

Tigress took a deep breath and sighed. "He's right. It'll just be a liability. It's safer here, and we're safer without it."

Po looked to her only to find her eyes squarely trained on him, as if she'd been speaking more to him than to the group as a whole. He tightened his lips again and nodded. "Yeah, best not be reckless with it," he agreed.

"Then it's a plan!" Monkey said, clapping his paws together. "We leave in the morning?"

"Yes," Shifu answered. "Fresh morning, fresh start." He looked down, his eyes drifting to the box as his expression became thoughtful. "Team…" he looked up to see them all focused on him. "Be sure to make haste," he said. "I do not know any more than you, but I'd like to get as much of an advantage as we can muster."

They all nodded before bowing, each doing their respective versions of fist-to-paw.

"Well, I say earlier the better," Monkey said, breaking the silence as he made a move towards the door. "Better get to bed and get a good night-"

"Monkey." Shifu leveled a striking gaze to the simian. He pointed behind him to the pile of unrolled scrolls Monkey had previously been waist deep in.

Master Monkey raised his eyebrows then sighed. He smiled playfully and shrugged. "I thought it was worth a try!"

 **XoXoX**

The team got up bright and early as planned. They packed only what they would need and stopped by the kitchen for a quick breakfast. Shifu accompanied them in the kitchen and walked them to the main gate. After hearty goodbyes and remarks of "See ya later!" he stood like a sentinel watching them descend the Thousand Steps.

Po glanced back for only a moment before looking ahead once more, making sure to keep focused as to not trip and repeat his unfortunate bouncing habit he had every now and then. He was sore just thinking about it.

"You alright, Po?" Monkey asked suddenly.

Po looked to him then nodded with a smile, looking ahead to quickly jump to and off of a taller rock protrusion. He wasn't lying, but inwardly he was a tad worried. Part of him didn't want to leave Shifu behind while they were both still having nightmares as they were. Though, last night the creepy dreams were conspicuously absent. He hadn't asked Shifu if it was the same for him, but he supposed it wouldn't matter.

Po shook his head, trying to both dispel his worry as well as wake himself up. Shifu was a much older and more experienced master than he was. If anyone could handle himself, it was him. And besides, he wasn't really alone. The servants and Palace attendants were always onsite and available if needed.

The Five and the Dragon Warrior finally reached the village, a few random citizens waving to them. They jogged through the street. The cobble stones were still cool and the air was warm. The sky was a light, bright blue and the rays of the sun seemed to shine happily.

Po smiled as he took a deep breath. _I'm gonna take all this as a good sign,_ he thought happily.

"Po!"

Po stopped short, screeching to a halt. The Five mimicked his actions. They all looked just a few yards behind them to see Mr. Ping exiting the doorway of his shop. They'd almost passed it without noticing.

"Po, where are you going?" he asked. He then looked to the Five with a smile. "And good morning to you!"

Tigress smiled lightly, the goose always bringing out her friendly streak. "Good morning, Mr. Ping," she said for them collectively.

Po smiled as well and knelt down to his father. "Morning, Dad! We're going on a mission," he answered vaguely.

Mr. Ping noticed the lack of information and raised an eyebrow as he crossed his wings. "Oooh, and you weren't going to tell me?"

Po laughed lightly. "Sorry, we were kinda focused."

The goose nodded and smiled despite his suspicious expression. "Ah well, to be expected. When will you return?" he asked, seeming to catch the hint that they weren't going to tell him the details.

Po glanced to the others and looked back. "Well… I'm not sure. If all goes well, Shifu said it should only take us a week at the most."

Mr. Ping nodded with a more energetic smile as he unfolded his wings and clapped his feathers together. "Well I shall pray for a speedy finish then! Li Shan is going to be here in about two weeks with the visiting party!"

Po's eyes widened slightly and he resisted the urge to slap his paw to his face. He'd completely forgotten about the visit. His Dad would make a trip every two months to the Valley, bringing a party of the other Pandas from the Secret Village. They would stay about a month before heading back, so it was likely that he wouldn't completely miss him, but he still felt bad for forgetting.

Mr. Ping, however, didn't seem to notice or care. "So, you get going on this mission of yours, get it done quickly, and get back home so we can all spend time together, ah!" he said with a wide grin.

Po looked to his dad and smiled. He nodded in response. "Thanks, Dad." He opened his arms.

Mr. Ping happily obliged, leaping into his son's arms to give him the biggest hug he could master. When they broke the embrace he made to turn, but suddenly gripped Po's forearm before he could stand. "You be safe, you understand," he said firmly. He then looked to the Five. "That goes for all of you."

Po blinked in surprise at his dad's sudden seriousness, but smiled and nodded anyway. "Always!"

Mr. Ping smiled back and patted Po's arm before finally stepping back. He waved as they started out again.

Po waved back then turned to face the road. _I wonder… nah, he always worries about us,_ he thought to himself. He shook his head again before raising his arms. "WAHOOO! Let's DO this!"

Shifu took a deep breath and sighed from his spot at the front gate. He'd seen the exchange and could tell by the quickness of their continuation that nothing had been said. Which was good. He turned and started back to the grounds.

While he hadn't expressly told the team to keep it a secret, he hadn't told them to go spreading the word either. He was happy to know that their instincts were as sharp as ever, and that they knew to keep their mouths shut. He wasn't sure yet if any of this should be brought to anyone's attention, or even be spoken of outside of their own circle. He didn't want to go causing worry and panic when they didn't even know what they were looking for yet.

"Shifu!"

The red panda stopped short and looked to his right at the Palace proper, his ears at attention. He saw Zeng running to him and noticed another goose flying away in the distance. The other appeared to be dressed in silver and white garb. _A messenger from Gongmen!?_ Shifu thought, eyes darting back to Zeng.

"Master Shifu," Zeng huffed when he got close, bowing quickly. "A message from the Kung Fu Council in Gongmen City." Zeng presented the scroll. It had Master Ox's seal on it.

Shifu took the scroll and opened it right there. It was one thing to receive a transcribed message. It was another to receive a personally written one.

 _Honorable Master Shifu,_

 _I respectfully request your presence at a specially called Council._

 _There is a matter of great importance to discuss, and I would_

 _appreciate your attendance, as you have much to offer in the_

 _way of profound and even obscure knowledge._

Shifu read down to the date in question. It was four weeks out. Shifu rolled the scroll up as his eyes wandered.

It wouldn't take him four weeks to reach Gongmen City. Which meant that the date was set so far out because he was calling more masters to the council. He also wasn't oblivious to the utter lack of explanation in the message. Master Ox had been very prudent in his word choices, making sure not to give anything away. This was concerning.

Shifu flicked an ear in thought. He looked to Zeng and nodded. "Please make yourself ready, Zeng. I need to send a response."

Zeng perked up in surprise. "Oh? The messenger didn't stay because he said one wasn't needed."

Shifu raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Maybe so, but I'm curious." With that he started for the Palace proper.

 **XoXoX**

The team traveled quickly, even Po keeping pace. They dashed through sloping mountains and scattered forests, enjoying the scenery and the serenity. As they passed other small villages, settlements, and even other travelers there was always a smiling response as they reciprocated the waves and excitement. It was always an exciting thing to see the Five and the Dragon Warrior. They made a point to never halt their progress, though. They had a long way to go.

The first night was spent camped in a clearing by the trees. The stars and waning moon shined quietly over their heads, as if keeping watch despite the constant readiness they all held close. Regardless of their comforting gazes, Po couldn't seem to fall into soothing sleep. His eyes continued to pop open as if they had minds of their own.

The second morning went as quickly as the first. After their short breakfast they continued with their hurried pace, each one feeling a strange need to move with haste. By midday they were aware of the land becoming dryer, just as Crane had said. The forestry started to break away and become sparse patches, few and far between. Soon they found themselves with no cover at all, only dry grasses and far reaching plains. However, they did see a feint glimmer of mountains at the far reaches of their vision. Crane assured them they would not need to go that far.

The second night was spent with a random shrub patch for company. They did not light a fire, but had plenty of light from their fiends the stars and the moon once again. And, while it got a little cool during the night, they had each other for warmth. Po finally found the embrace of dreamless sleep, but even with his friends so close, his mind was hardly comforted. He'd only managed a few hours, and he woke as if he'd been laboring in a field.

Exhausted was how he found himself by midday of the third day.

Po shook his head again. He'd done it several times already, as his brain felt unusually heavy. They'd slowed to a walk for a short bit, the midday sun having gotten hotter than the last couple days. But it seemed the walk was only magnifying his tiredness. He felt a sudden pressure on his left shoulder and jumped minutely. He looked to see Tigress eyeing him as she squeezed his shoulder.

"Are you alright, Po?" she asked quietly, even though the others could still hear.

Po nodded, blinking rapidly as he did. His eyes felt heavy. "Yeah. Just having trouble sleeping."

Mantis suddenly appeared out of nowhere on his right shoulder. "But you haven't been having nightmares. Or were you just quiet this time?" he asked, tilting his head.

Po snickered. "No, I haven't had them since the talk with Oogway actually. But, for some reason I can't sleep well either." He looked to the ground, resisting the urge to let his chin bounce against his chest from tiredness.

"I've noticed," Tigress commented.

Po looked back to her with a small smile. She was the one who went to sleep last and woke up first. Of course she'd notice his eyes staring aimlessly at the sky.

"Oh!"

All eyes looked towards Viper. She'd slithered out in front of them and stopped a few yards ahead in front of a small patch of shrubs. They jogged the final few strides to her and saw her examining a straight cylindrical post sticking up from the ground. It was only a foot and a half tall and was about as thin as a standard walking staff. The wood seemed to be stained a reddish pink color and the very top of it had lines carved into it.

Mantis hopped down from Po's shoulder and walked up to the construction. "Um… okay. Kinda odd," he noted, tapping on it with his foreclaw.

"Not at all!" Viper said happily. She then glanced to the others and tilted her head exaggeratedly in her form of a shrug. "Well, depending on this circumstance, I suppose."

"What do you mean?" Tigress asked.

"Well," Viper looked back to the post, "this is a trail marker." She looked back to them with a smile. "A _viper trade_ trail marker to be exact!"

"A what?" Mantis asked, looking up to her.

Viper giggled. "We vipers have well-traveled routes through China, which you all know. But what you don't know is all of our routes are marked by trail markers. Usually, they're better hidden than this, but they are always around somewhere. You can figure out what you need to know by looking at the color and the carvings on the top portion."

They all looked to the top of the post as Viper leaned back and pointed with her tail.

"These lines carved around the head are lines of measurement. They tell you the distance from one point to another." She moved the tip of her tail to the top. "And these lines on the top point in the direction of either the next civilized area, or the next marker." She gestured for them to look closer.

They could all make out that the line looked like it was depicting an angle. One line was traveling the direction they were walking. The other was angled behind them and to the northwest. The northwest line had another very small line notched into it perpendicularly, as if making a cross. The one pointing in the direction of their heading had a circular hole carved into it.

"The line here," Viper pointed to the small line, "represents another marker. The hole here represents a populated area."

"Wow…" Po said in amazement. "And what were these lines again?" he asked, pointing to the five lines carved around the circumference of the head.

"Those are distance markers!" Viper answered brightly. "Each line is a mile. This means it's five miles to the next post behind us, and five miles to the populated area in front of us." She looked to them with a smile.

"Wait…" All eyes turned to Tigress who was looking at the post in confusion. "That would be the village we're going to." She looked up to Crane. "I thought no one knew of it."

Crane raised a foot to scratch his temple with a talon. "You can say that again."

Viper gasped lightly. "You're right! And this is a trade marker too, which means they actively trade with the village ahead."

Monkey moved forward, poking at the post. "How do you know it's a trade maker?" he asked curiously.

"It's stained red," Viper answered simply. "Red posts are trade route markers."

"So," Mantis tilted his head and flicked an antenna, "not only does someone know about this village, but they're participating in trade?" He looked around to the team, mirroring the confusion that was starting to grow on all of their expressions.

Eventually, all eyes darted to Crane. He met their gazes and shrugged. "Hey, I got nothing. When I saw it the first time, it was basically a pile of dirt."

Po stood straight and looked ahead. "We are going the right way, right?" he asked. "I mean, we didn't get turned around or anything?"

Crane shook his head. "No. We are going the right direction," he said with surety. He shrugged again. "Who knows, maybe they had some miracle growth spurt, or figured out how to get water up from the river?"

"Is that a question?" Tigress asked, glancing back to the bird.

"It's all in question at this point, isn't it?" Crane asked with a raised brow.

"Well, there's only one way to find the answer," Po said, looking to each one of them. "Let's do this."

On cue, the whole team started into a run, their original haste revitalized by the new questions the trail maker had unearthed. They spread out as they hurried over the dusty terrain, making sure not to kick dust and debris into each other's faces. Crane had the ability to fly ahead, but he flew at their speed, seeming to echo the inner reserve they all had about the situation.

As they progressed further along the land they started to realize that the imaginary trail they'd been following in their heads was turning into a real one. It was well worn and definitely in active use. They followed it as the terrain started to change, the shrub patches becoming more common and even a random clump of trees here and there. They noticed dips and mounds in the landscape, and rocky protrusions starting to become evident as well. They hopped over and rounded some rock mounds and followed the trail through a split in the land.

They all skidded, slithered or fell to a stop.

"Grass!?" Mantis exclaimed, hopping into the green strands and moving them around with his foreclaws, as if testing for illusion. "Where did this grass come from?"

Crane walked slowly out in front, setting his feet down carefully with each step as he looked to the ground. "I… I can't believe it… this wasn't here!" He looked up, his concerned expression tinged with a hint of panic. "Guys, this wasn't here! There wasn't even a shred of grass or green to be seen, this isn't-"

"Crane." Tigress pinned him down with her fiery gaze. "There's an explanation for everything. We'll find out what it is," she said in a calm tone.

Crane was silent a moment before nodding his head in a jerking motion.

Mantis hopped up onto his hat. "I gotta agree, though. I may not have seen the village the first time, but there was definitely no healthy, green grass down this way."

Po took a deep breath and started walking. "Like Tigress said, we'll find the explanation." The others glanced to one another before following Po's lead.

They continued along the path, now narrowed with overgrown grass. The clumps of trees they were now entering were considerably less dried and withered, almost looking like trees from the forests around the Valley of Peace. The path itself was very reminiscent of serpent trails in that it winded though the areas of least resistance and before long they found they were trying to catch a glimpse of something through the gaps in the trees, rock growths and shrubbery.

"It's not too far ahead now, I can feel it," Po said in a quiet voice.

Monkey scoffed. "You can't _feel_ a village," he said playfully.

Po smiled despite his unwelcome apprehension. "Well, I feel something." As soon as the words left his mouth they rounded yet another rock formation.

They stopped in their tracks.

Green. That was the first word that came to each of their minds. The scene before them was extensively green. Fields stretching as far as they could see from their vantage point had healthy green crops. Brilliant emerald grass lined the pathways through the fields and the main path they were still standing on. In the center of it all was what could only be their sought-after village. Only it was hardly a dried up forgotten relic of the past. What could be seen of the houses and huts were well-built and sturdy. Just visible at their distance was a rather moderate gathering of peoples, and what looked like a market and trade tents lining the central path.

"Okay…"

All eyes turned to Crane.

"I'm lost," he said simply. He looked to them, his shoulders drooping.

"Not actually lost, right?" Mantis questioned, leaning down to eye Crane from atop his hat. "Because, I'm pretty sure we didn't deviate from that old flight path."

Crane looked back to the village, his neck bending awkwardly as he slouched. "Yeah, I don't know," he said with a depressed voice. "I know this is the right direction, this should be that old bone yard, but… here it is all… not old."

"And very green," Monkey noted, plucking a blade of grass.

Po huffed lightly as he knelt down, running his paw through the strands. "Yeah, it's a really lush green actually. Kinda reminds me of the Val-" he stopped short as a gasp broke into his sentence. He jumped up and gestured to the village with wide eyes. "What the- guys!" he looked to his partners. "Guys, 'the green gem will glow like home'!"

There was a collective gasp of realization as they all looked back to the sight before them.

"No way," Mantis whispered with awe.

"Haha! Yes way!" Po said excitedly. " _This_ is the green gem, _this_ is where we're supposed to be!"

"Po." Tigress gripped his shoulder, prompting a look of surprise. "Maybe not say all this so loud."

Po immediately put his paw to his mouth. "Oops."

Viper slithered over and up Po's side. "Do you _really_ think this is the 'green gem' Oogway spoke of?" she asked in astonishment, making it around his shoulders.

Po took his paw from his mouth only to grip his chin in thought, not the least bit bothered by Viper's presence. "I'm sure of it," he answered, looking up to the place. It was vibrant, growing, _green_ , and the barely audible chatter from the center of the village was happy and jovial. It had all the reminders of home. He nodded. "This is definitely the green gem."

"Okay," Tigress looked to the view as well, her paw still on his shoulder. "Now that that's been established, what are we looking for?"

Po shrugged. "No idea."

"Well that was very _Oogway_ of you," Mantis said with a grin.

Viper snickered from her perch Po's shoulders. "I think he's rubbing off on you."

Po smiled himself. "Yeah, he probably is."

Crane readjusted his wings and took a deep breath. "Well, I guess we should get in there and start looking around, huh?"

Po nodded, Viper sliding from his shoulders and Tigress releasing her grip of his shoulder. "Yeah. I think we should just step in and play like regular travelers, not be too obvious, you know?"

Monkey laughed lightly. "Po, we are the Furious Five and Dragon Warrior. Everyone knows who we are!"

"Oh, right," Po said, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, let's just play that we're passing through? How's that?"

Mantis clicked his foreclaws together. "I'm sure we can manage that. Maybe we can find some good souvenirs!"

"Let's hope one of them is what we're looking for," Tigress commented.

 **XoXoX**

To say that Monkey had been wrong was an understatement.

Not only did the villagers have no idea who they were, many of them didn't know _what_ they were. The only ones who were recognized by what they happened to be were Viper, Mantis and Crane. The villagers did regular trade with vipers in the region, so they were completely comfortable with Viper. They'd also had encounters with "buggies" as they called them, so Mantis wasn't so much of a surprise. Crane was recognized because there were many of his kind that would pass through the village coming from the north.

Po, Tigress and Monkey were a completely different story.

No one even knew what Po was. When the villagers were told he was a panda, they would scratch their heads and look at them as if it were some joke. When it was explained that he was like a bear, some even became aggravated, asking why they didn't just say he was a deformed bear. Tigress was lucky enough to be recognized by a few older individuals, but that recognition turned into more of a problem when younger villagers learned she was a predator. They didn't panic, but they would avoid eye contact and some would even leave their tents, commenting they had a sudden errand to attend to. Monkey was about as strange to them as Po, gathering a lot of attention for his strange looking paws and long tail. Though, thanks to one old she-goose, he was explained rather well.

"Ape! Ape, not grape, you fool!" the she-goose yelled at a pig in her tent. "He's an ape! Their feet look like their paws and they have long fingers and toes for grabbing branches and vines."

The younger pig looked from the group and back to the she-goose. "Why would he need to be able to do that out here?"

The she-goose rolled her eyes. "Because they don't live out here, they live in jungles!" She whacked him on the head with a bamboo stick.

Po and the others flinched. So far the other villagers had at least been cordial, but this lady was loud and apparently mean.

The pig flailed his hooves at her before resting them on his hips. "Okay, then what is he doing out here? There's no jungles here."

An antelope child, one of the several that had taken an interest in the strangers, walked up and tried to grab Monkey's tail. Monkey smiled and waved it back and forth, watching as the little boy laughed and tried to catch it.

"Well, by the looks of it, he's here to play with the children," the she-goose replied in a quieter tone. She watched for a moment before suddenly whacking her stick on one of the tent posts. "Why are you all here?" she asked loudly, scaring off the children. "We don't get many strange strangers in these parts, everybody knows everybody, so what brings you to our little village, eh?" she asked, tilting her head and eyeing them suspiciously.

Several glances from the five involuntarily shot to Po. Po swallowed sudden nerves as the she-goose's gaze narrowed in on him as a result. "Uh… we were just traveling on our way and ran across this village."

"Just traveling?" she asked, tilting her head further to the side and looking him up and down. "And what a strange group of travelers you are. How would such random folks come to know each other and travel in a pack?"

"Well," Monkey stepped forward and placed his paws on one of the baskets on display, "If you really want to know our life stories- Yeow!" He jumped back at the whack he received on his paw from the she-goose's stick.

"No touching unless you plan to buy!" She yelled. "And I don't want a life story, if that's what you're here for you can just continue your traveling!"

Tigress stepped forward, standing tall. Her height was imposing and her stoic gaze piercing. It would have been enough to stay the toughest of tongues. But apparently not the she-goose's

"Are you going to buy anything or just block the light?" She asked, crossing her wings.

Tigress looked down to the vender's stock. She appeared to be a farmer and had quite a selection of goods. It almost seemed misrepresentative, as if she had several farms in her possession. Her eyes alighted on something and she raised an eyebrow in surprise. Tucked in between some carrots and radishes was a tiny basket of figs. She looked back to the she-goose and allowed one corner of her mouth to quirk up. "How much for the fig fruit?" she asked.

The she-goose stepped onto a stool and leaned over her stock, as if having forgotten the tiny basket was still there. "Five for three," she said simply.

Tigress reached to her sash and pulled out her coin pouch. "We didn't really answer your question," she stated.

The she-goose tilted her head the other way and eyed her. "Oh?" she asked, that suspicious tone still present.

Tigress kept her eyes lowered as she opened her pouch and counted out three coins. "We became acquainted with each other many years ago, and took to exploring our great land of China." She looked up and reached her paw towards the vender. "Perhaps you know of another great sight worth seeing?" she asked cordially.

The she-goose uncrossed her wings and took the coins, putting them in her purse. "Take your pick," she said, gesturing to the basket. "And you're looking at it."

Tigress leaned towards the basket and started picking out figs. "Oh? What do you mean?" she asked with a fleeting glance.

"This village is all there is to see for miles and miles," the she-goose replied, hopping off the stool and crouching down under the table.

"Well, there is Face Rock!" the younger pig suddenly said. He then ducked as an empty basket was thrown at him.

"Don't be stupid! There's no face on that blasted rock, and everyone knows it!" the elderly goose hollered at him.

Tigress raised her eyebrow again as she passed out the figs to the others. "So how far to the next village?" she ventured.

The vendor popped back up from under the table with a bowl in her wing and hopped back onto the stool. She reached over for the fig basket and emptied it into the bowl, placing the bowl in the basket's spot and hopping back off the stool to tuck the basket under the table. "There is no next village. We're the only ones out here and that's the way we like it. You want more villages you either have to go north or east along the routes." She looked back up and crossed her wings again. "You buying anything else?"

Tigress figured that was enough questions for the moment, at least for this vendor in particular. She reached back into her coin pouch and plucked out one more coin. "Just another fig, please," she said with a pleasant smile.

"That'll get you two," the she-goose said as she took the offered coin.

Tigress raised her eyebrow for a third time. She then nodded to the vendor. "Thank you."

"None needed, take your pick and move along," the she-goose said without looking at her.

The rest of the day went on with generally the same results to similar questions. Nothing to see. Nothing to do. No other villages. They did learn that the routes the she-goose had spoken of were established by the southern viper clans after they stumbled upon the "diamond in the ruff" as the village was called. Those routes were the only real connection to the rest of China, despite the fact that the village was still quite unknown.

One question, however, remained suspiciously unanswered; or answered clumsily.

No one would tell them how they managed to create such a lush and thriving environment for their crops and people. There was no explanation that any villager could give for the grass that grew so well, and the crops that were so tall and healthy. The usual answer was "We're just so lucky!" or "It's just a fluke of nature." and every now and then a random "We were blessed by the ancestors!". Not one of those answers settled right with the team, yet they could see no evidence of advanced organization or construction.

The villagers were hiding something.

"I'm sure of it," Po said quietly. He looked out at the grain field to their right.

They'd made their way out of the village proper and had started walking along the many paths in and out of the crop fields. The trek hadn't done much in the way of answering their questions, though it did get them to the outer boundary of the fields.

"I dunno," Mantis said from atop Crane's hat, "they don't seem handy enough to have come up with any special techniques or equipment, and besides, we would have seen evidence of it." He gestured to the field. "I mean we've been through most of their crop by now. Surprised we haven't been run off actually," he mumbled the last part quietly.

"Maybe they don't really know?" Viper said in question, tilting her head at the others.

"Don't know we're snooping around their crops?" Mantis asked. "I mean _maybe_ -"

"No, not that!" Viper looked at him sternly. "Maybe they don't really know why their land is so much more productive than the surrounding areas."

"Even so," Crane paused his words and steps to readjust his hat, "I don't know how this relates to our present, ah… situation." He glanced to either side, as if expecting a random villager to pop out of the grass.

"It does, we just need to figure it out," Po said with surety. "This matches Oogway's riddle perfectly, every bit of it. So we're in the right place."

"Po," Tigress glanced to their sides, Crane's caution wearing off on her, "we may be in the right place, but that doesn't mean how they manage their farms is of any importance to us."

"Well, it's not just their farms," Po said, turning to look at them, halting everyone's steps. "Remember the grass that was up at that split in the rock, and through all the trees that seem to be bigger and better than they should be?" He stood in front of them, looking at their expressions. "Even if they found a way to make their crops grow, there's no reason for the effect of it to reach that far away… right?"

The others tilted their heads or looked away in thought. None came up with any rebuttal.

"Exactly!" Po said, quietly but excitedly. "What we need to find is here, in this village. Or! Or, or," Po's face brightened, "better yet, _who_ we need to find is here!"

"Again with the _who_ , Po?" Crane said, raising an eyebrow under his hat.

"Well think about it!" Po gestured to the field, looking to the many other fields around and beyond. "A person who could make a miracle happen in the driest land might have the skills to open a mystical bo-"

"SSSHHH!"

Po crouched and covered his muzzle in his paws. "Oops, sorry," came his muffled apology.

Tigress huffed lightly and ran her fingers into her eyes. "Okay. We'll investigate this further, Po. But we can't take too long if it looks like it doesn't get us anywhere." She looked to the sun, now well into it's downward arch. "We have to spend our time wisely."

Po straightened back up and smiled. "Thanks, guys." He then looked back to the field and chewed on his lip. "I guess the only thing to do now is figure how to keep asking questions without being too obvious."

Crane leaned his head to the side. "We could start with asking questions to someone we haven't talked to yet."

Po looked at him and shrugged. "Yeah, but how are we gonna do that? Hang around the village center? Knock on farmhouse doors, or-"

"No, I mean there's someone over there," Crane cut in, pointing a wing behind Po.

Po turned around and saw another crop field far in front of them, past the grain field. Though, it didn't have crops yet. It was currently just freshly plowed rows with the ever-present grass making a thin green carpet in between them. Among the rows was a large individual, seeming to be pulling something heavy. Or were they just walking funny?

Po squinted. "What, uh… what's-"

"It's a burdener," Tigress said. "You've heard of burdeners, right?"

"Ooohh," Po's eyes widened in realization. "Yeah, they do heavy lifting and hauling and stuff, right?" he asked looking back to her.

"Yes," she answered. "We don't have any residents in the Valley that can do burdening, but if you've noticed the gorillas that have been hired at the docks before, or the water buffalo that some of our farmers have working on their fields, that's their job title," she said, starting forward.

"Oh, right, yeah. I've seen those guys," Po said, nodding. He then noticed them all moving forward and walked with them. "Wait, are we gonna go talk to him?"

Monkey snickered. "He's the only one around to talk to, Po."

"Oh… okay." Po looked back to the burdener in the distance. "So we're just gonna go up and ask him what's up?"

"Well," Crane shrugged his wings, "It isn't common for farmers to give away their secrets to hired help, but he may have noticed something while working here." He glanced to Po. "And that's what we're looking for right? Clues to solve the mystery." He smiled lightly.

Po smiled back. "Yep, sure is."

They grew quiet as they walked along the path, eyes kept on the distant figure. As they got closer they realized the burdener was the one plowing the field, and could see that the presumed male was straining against the large plow behind him. But as they each started to move slower, it wasn't the action he was performing that was catching their attention.

Po felt a strange emotion welling in his mind, causing his fur to rise along his shoulders and back of his neck. He looked closely, squinting his eyes as his steps became slower and slower. He could see that the burdener was definitely male. He had long, tall horns and he was big, very big, and looked like he'd be rather tall if he wasn't pulling against the plow, with gray fur and a neck of long, black mane.

He didn't realize when his feet had stopped. But he did realize he could feel the tension of his teammates on either side of him. They all stood motionless, every one of them staring at the person in their view. Po lowered his head and broke the tension.

He crouched and brought his fist up. He spun a pointed finger in the air and aimed his hand to the trees at their left. They all dashed with near silence into the foliage.

"That can't be who I think it is!" Mantis hissed, clutching onto Crane's hat.

"There's no way, no way," Crane whispered, shaking his head emphatically.

"Shh!" Viper hissed. She looked to Po. "Brother, tell us that's…" She blinked rapidly as her voice died in her throat.

Po looked to the ground as they all stood crouched in a circle. His heart was pounding a hundred miles a minute and it felt like his ears were ringing. He closed his eyes for a moment and forced a deep breath into his lungs.

"Po?" Tigress asked quietly.

Po shook his head. "No." He looked up, an expression of angry determination on his face. "There's no way that's him."

"You don't look very convinced yourself," Monkey said with look of concern.

Po glanced to him then back to the ground. He shook his head again. "He's gone. I know he is. I felt it."

Tigress took an audible breath and all eyes turned to her. "How about we go about this properly." She glanced around to the other sets of eyes. "Let's go up along the tree line and get a closer look. This must just be a case of look-a-like."

"Right, it's gotta be," Mantis agreed quietly, nodding his head. "I mean, we don't see many bulls, like, ever! So, this guy is probably just some dude who has the same build." Mantis then wobbled as Crane shook his head.

"I don't think so," he said quietly.

Tigress eyed Crane as seriously as he eyed the ground. "Crane-"

"All bulls' horns are different." Crane looked up and shot her a piercing look. "You all may not have seen many nomads in your time, but I have, and I can tell you right now that no two have the same shaped horns. And the only ones who have similar horn structure are those in the same clan."

Monkey scratched his temple. "Well, if you wanna go by that, then he still wouldn't be who we think he is." He looked up to Crane. "This guy has no prongs on his horns. And they're too small."

"Not by much," Viper commented.

Po finally shook his head and stood, the others' gazes shooting to him instantly. "We're not gonna know unless we take a look," he said.

The others looked to one another before looking back to him, each one nodding.

He nodded back. "Follow my lead," he said quietly.

He started in the direction of the burdener, the others on his tail. They crept through the trees as quietly as if they were all vipers, each one of them being extra careful not to rustle too many leaves or move any branches. Po looked through the gaps in the trees, getting a feel for where the burdener was. He had only managed to make it halfway across the field while they'd been talking, and was still facing away from them. However, while their careful progression was slow, his progress was slower.

They finally made it ahead of him and Po put a finger to his mouth and held his hand out to them, signaling the others to remain still. He crept just a little bit further, and crouched as low as he could to the ground. He finally got right at the tree line, lowered completely to his stomach, and angled his head carefully from behind a tree, shifting some of the tall grass out of his line of sight by just a fraction. He felt his heart skip a beat as the fur along his spine stood on end.

The burdener was straining heavily against the plow, his head down as he pulled against the harness made of thick leather and chain. But with every few steps he would lift his head and raise his body up slightly, pulling up on the leads hooked to the plow to prevent it from digging itself too deep into the ground. When he did, his face was exposed, and Po knew that his instincts were telling him right.

That bull was Kai.

He swallowed through a now dry mouth and kept his eyes glued to the bull, who still hadn't noticed him. He examined as much as he could see. Kai's jade blades were nowhere to be seen. His arm bands were gone. He didn't have his helmet either. And, he was wearing a different styled loincloth too, with rope ties instead of a heavy belt.

Po felt a tinge of confusion tug at his mind. He looked to Kai's face, once again exposed as he pulled up on the plow leads again. Monkey was right about his horns. They were no longer pronged, and he didn't have the tiny horns sticking out from his temples. He looked a lot less threatening without that leather helmet creating a harsh angle over his eyes. And he looked tired. Exhausted even.

As if subconsciously seeking to prove Po's observations, Kai suddenly stopped, letting his head hang as he huffed. He leaned forward, resting against the harness as opposed to pushing against it. He stayed that way for a moment, breathing heavily. He then shook his head vigorously, his wild mane flying around his neck, and stood, resuming his original task.

Po blinked slowly, trying to let his brain provide answers to the strangeness he was witnessing. Sudden uncertainty filled his mind. _If this is Kai, alive and well… then why is he out here in the middle of nowhere plowing someone's field?_ he asked himself.

He felt something touch his foot and he about broke his back trying to keep himself from jumping five feet into the air. He hung his head before huffing lightly and looked to see Viper slithering up next to him. He could see Tigress hanging back, looking out from behind a tree, and saw Monkey moving to cover his left side while Crane crouched low on his right with Mantis still on his hat. Viper reached him and looked at him meaningfully. Her question was obvious. He bit his lip and had no choice but to nod. Viper lowered herself to the ground, her face expressionless as she touched her chin to the grass aiming her head in the bull's direction. He just barely heard the others lowering themselves, making ready.

They were waiting for his direction.

Po chewed on his lip as he looked back. Kai was still pulling the plow. He appeared oblivious to everything around him. Or, maybe it was a ruse. Maybe he knew they were there and was simply waiting for them to jump out at him. Maybe his blades were connected to the chains on the harness and were hidden on the plow somehow. Maybe it was all part of some elaborate plan to trap them into a confrontation. Po felt his face marring with concern. _That makes no sense,_ he thought, the rational part of his mind poking at him.

He took a deep breath. He raised his hand. He felt his teammates' eyes on him. He waited, watching Kai's movements. He waited for Kai to lift his head again. He waited as he pulled up on the plow. He watched as Kai dipped his head back down.

Po threw his hand down.

In a flurry they were out of the forest, bounding through the grass across the path, and then they were at him, right in front of him. Po took stance and put on his best intimidating expression, hearing the others take stance on either side of him. "We have you five to one, Kai! Surrender now or feel the _thunda!_ " he yelled at him.

The bull stood completely frozen, still leaning against the plow harness, eyes wide as he stared at Po. His remained completely still as his eyes darted from Po to the others, glancing to each of them before landing on Po again. He was quiet, appearing to have even stopped breathing.

Po felt an eyebrow tugging loose of his control, slowly starting to rise as the silence stretched on. He held the bull's gaze and contemplated if he should repeat himself. Finally, the bull opened his mouth slowly, taking in a breath, eyes never leaving Po's.

"What?"

Po finally blinked. That was definitely Kai's voice. But the utter confusion in it didn't seem right. His own confusion rose to the surface, but he swiftly quelled it. "Y-you heard me! We have you five to one! Surrender now or feel the thunder!" he would have bit his lip at the tinge of confusion lacing his own voice, but he kept stance and held his gaze none-the-less.

The bull continued to stare before slowly moving his head. He angled it to his right, keeping his eyes on Po until his face was fully turned away. He appeared to be looking out into the rest of the field. He moved his head a bit further, looking to what was oriented behind him. He then slowly brought his head back around, his eyes meeting Po's again. "Who are you talking to?" he asked, his expression mimicking the confusion saturating his voice.

Po froze. He blinked again as his expression faltered for a moment. He then put on his intimidating face again and gave a curt nod. "You! I'm talking to you! Kai the Jade Slayer, Master of Pain, Beast of Vengeance, Maker of Widows- you! Kai!"

The bull stared at him, wide-eyed and radiating pure confusion. He finally blinked, his eyebrows furrowed even deeper, and he tilted his head. "Who?"

 **XxXxX**

* * *

 **Author's note: The title/word Burdener is a play on the phrase "Beast of Burden".**

 **Thank you for the read! Have a good day or night and a wonderful time~**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Kung Fu Panda, nor am I in any way affiliated with it's creators. All belongs to DreamWorks.**

 **I only claim the storyline and OC's.**

 **Author's note below:**

 **I wanted to get this out of the way because someone brought it up (TheWhisperingWarrior, I'm looking at you; you're awesome! ;3). This involves the subject of Kai's species. I've noticed there are different versions depending on what story you're reading. Some authors call him a yak, others call him a water buffalo, and I think somewhere I saw ox mentioned.**

 **Well, it was pointed out for me that the wiki labeled him as a yak. That being said, I think they've updated the wiki, because I thought he was a yak too and went to the wiki for confirmation and it told me he was a bull. I read all of it, even down to a cited interview -I clicked the link and read the interview because I'm obsessed- where one of the directors, Alessandro Carloni, said "officially, he's a bull". There's even a part in the trivia section where it notes that, in The Art of Kung Fu Panda 3 book and the film novelization, Kai is "mistakenly described as a yak". I don't know if there's been an update or if there's actually two wikis or two wiki pages maybe, but everything I have found thus far has told me he is a bull.**

 **Regardless, the notion that he is a bull is rather set in stone for the sake of this story, so if that does change someday, we'll just have to call this artistic merit on my part!**

 **But, moving on, I want to thank everyone for the follows and reviews so far! It's really appreciated on my part and I hope everyone continues to enjoy the story! :3**

* * *

 **Chapter 3~***

"Who?"

Po remained completely still for a moment before finally taking his eyes away and looking to the others in confusion. They looked around at each other in the same confusion, hesitantly taking their eyes from the bull before quickly returning gazes to their target. Po looked back as well and raised an eyebrow. "You!"

The bull tilted his head further, utter confusion displayed on his features. His eyes darted away and he craned his head around his right side, looking behind him again. He then moved to look the other way. He looked back to them with that same complete and total confusion. "Me?" he asked, finally leaning off of his harness and standing straight.

Po blinked rapidly. "… y-yes _you!_ You're the only you here!" he said, unsure if he was now frustrated or aggravated.

The bull shook his head slowly, raising an eyebrow as he took a moment to eye all of them, concern mingling into the expression on his face. "I don't… know that name."

"What do you mean you _don't know that name!?_ " Mantis suddenly hollered, jumping from his spot next to Crane and landing on the plow. "You wouldn't shut up about your name last time we saw you!" he yelled, waving his foreclaws at him.

The bull jumped lightly as his attention was drawn to the green insect, his hooves tightening their grip around the harness handles. "I… what? I've never seen you…" he said anxiously. "I don't even know what you are."

"Oh please!" Po finally broke stance, his arms falling to his sides as he slouched. "What do you mean you don't know what we are?"

The bull looked back to Po, only for his gaze to travel around to all of them, fluttering over each of them almost innocently; despite the continuing confusion and obviously growing anxiety. Then his eyes landed on Viper. He blinked and the tell-tale flutter of recognition ran across his face. "I… I know her," he said quietly, pointing at the serpent.

Viper rose up lightly, her eyes widening. "You know me?"

The bull swallowed nervously, reaching for the two large harness straps across his chest. "Yeah. Vipers are common visitors here. They come by every few weeks during the summer," he said, undoing the buckles of the harness.

Po didn't take stance, but his senses became more alert as the harness fell to the ground. He could feel the others tensing as well. The harness was an obvious hindrance if Kai wanted to fight, the plow acting like an anchor. He looked back to the bull and saw anxious green eyes meet his gaze. Po blinked again, realization hitting him. _His eyes aren't glowing._ Po tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. "So. If you don't know the name we called you… then what is your name?" he asked.

The bull swallowed nervously again, his gaze darting to each of them, hovering on Viper for a longer moment before darting back to Po. "Bobo."

Po felt his suspicious mask crack instantly. He blinked rapidly and shook his head. "Bobo?" he asked incredulously.

The bull nodded slowly. "My name is Bobo."

"You can't be serious," Tigress suddenly fumed through clenched teeth, her aggravation only now becoming obvious.

The bull looked to her, his anxious expression worsening. "It's the only name I know," he said quietly.

"Okay," Viper said in a similar quiet tone, "Bobo… How about another question?" She slithered slowly forward.

The bull tensed, a foot stretching back behind him a few inches. His eyes were glued to Viper, wide and distrustful.

The others tensed as well, the sudden action raising their weariness a notch.

Viper stopped immediately and tilted her head. She examined his face for a moment before speaking. "How… how long have you lived here?"

The bull was silent a moment, his eyes never leaving and never blinking, as if he were afraid blinking would cause him harm. "As long as I can remember," he answered.

Viper raised a brow ridge. "And… how long is that?"

Po watched carefully as the bull's eyebrows drew down. His eyes became unfocused with thought. He finally looked away, his gaze at the grass and dirt below him.

"Five… years," he managed hesitantly.

Po felt that strange emotion flood into his mind again, and a tingling run up his forearms and down his spine. It had been five years ago that he'd defeated Kai. Maybe not to the day, but never-the-less. "How did you get here?" he asked suddenly. The bull looked up to him and a new emotion colored the expression on his face. Po blinked and couldn't help but be taken aback.

The new emotion looked a lot like fear.

The bull's expression then clouded as he looked away, eyes darting every which way and any direction that was not at the warriors. He shook his head and lowered it, then glanced to the plow. "I…" He looked to the ground, his eyes following the rows he'd already made. "I need to get back to work," he said in a hushed voice, almost a whisper.

Po looked to the freshly plowed rows then looked to the grain field far to their right. His eyebrows drew down as a thought occurred to him. "You're a plower… You plow _all_ the fields?" he asked, looking to the bull now refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

"Yes," he said, barely nodding. He turned, leaning to the plow. "I always have." He reached for the harness leads and pulled one of the chains up.

Mantis suddenly took stance, still standing on the plow. "Chain!" he called loudly.

Monkey and Crane took stance instantly, but Po threw his arm out. "Wait!"

The bull jumped and dropped the leads, stumbling back from Mantis as if he'd grown ten feet tall. His eyes darted from the bug to the others fearfully.

"Guys, guys!" Viper suddenly called, slithering between them and the bull. "It's just the plow leads," she said forcefully, shooting a glare to Mantis. She used her tail to pick up one of the leads, both the leather and the chain. "They're hooked together," she explained. She then sat it back down carefully and turned to look at the bull, lowering her head slightly. "I'm sorry, we're just a bit jumpy," she said kindly.

"Jumpy! Are you kidding me?" Mantis yelled in indignance. "What do you mean jumpy? Like we don't have a reason?"

"Mantis, shut up." Viper turned and shot him a scathing glare.

"Guys," Po held his arm higher and held his other arm out to the bull. He looked to his teammates. "We need to tone it down, okay." He looked to Kai… Bobo… the bull. "I'm sorry. We aren't trying to…" he blinked rapidly as his words died. _What was I gonna say? We aren't trying to hurt you? We were just about to a few minutes ago._ Po swallowed hard and bit the inside of his lip. He looked to the bull, trying to put meaning into his expression. "I'm sorry," he said simply.

The bull didn't look like he believed him. He looked ready to break and run.

Po glanced to the others. Viper was still looking at the bull with a comforting expression; Mantis was looking between him and Viper angrily, as if he and Viper had lost their minds; Crane looked aggravated and Monkey looked confused. Po's breath hitched and panic shot through his core. _Where's Tigress?!_ No sooner had the thought formed in his brain-

"Enough of this!"

Po looked up in horror as Tigress leapt above them. She must have backed away to get enough space for a more powerful down kick. And she was poised perfectly, exuding aggressive fury from her very form.

It was as if time had slowed, and in a split-second Po managed to look from Tigress to the rest of the team. Crane and Monkey were taking stance instinctively, though they both appeared surprised; Mantis was still, confused eyes glued to Tigress; and Viper had turned to look at Tigress, fearful concern clouding her gaze. He finally looked to the bull.

Kai, Bobo, whatever he called himself… was terrified. His knees seemed to be giving out, his arms were going up to hide his face, and all the while he stared at Tigress with wide, horrified eyes.

Po acted on pure instinct.

He was in the air. His arms wrapped around a slim waist in fine silk and he flung his body around, pulling hers with him. As their direction changed, he pulled her upward, angling his back to the ground. They hit hard and he bounced, but managed to throw an elbow down to keep from landing his weight on her.

And it was done.

Po took a deep breath with difficulty as he looked at the back of Tigress's head, still holding her securely to him as he supported his weight over her. The moment didn't last long as an elbow suddenly crashed into the side of his head. He rolled, letting go of the writhing feline as his paws went to his head, now spinning as stars burst to life behind his closed eyes. "OW! What was that for!?" he yelled.

" _Why_ did you stop me?!" Tigress yelled back, standing over him with clenched fists and eyes of fire.

Po squinted his eyes open and resisted the urge to snarl. It wasn't like him normally, but her elbow _hurt_. "Take a look!" he said, pointing in the direction he'd pulled them from.

Tigress whipped around with a low growl only to have the sound falter in her throat.

The bull was on the ground, having fallen backwards, his arm in front of his face. His wide eyes were glued to Tigress and he was shaking.

He was afraid.

For a moment nothing happened as Tigress stared at the terrified behemoth and the others stared between the two; though Po did manage another groan of pain.

Po finally rolled over and started to get to his feet. He looked from Tigress's back to the bull who hadn't moved. "Okay, I think maybe we just need to-"

The bull suddenly rolled and jolted to his feet, jumping into a run on all fours.

"Oh, no you don't!" Mantis called, jumping after him.

"Mantis, no!" Viper moved with striking speed and caught Mantis's legs with her tail, pulling him to the ground.

"Hey!" Mantis rolled to look at her. "What are you doing!?" he asked in disbelief.

Tigress made to move, but froze. Her eyes darted to Po, his right arm around her waist once more as his left paw gripped her shoulder. She growled lowly, but Po didn't hear it. He was watching the running bull, quickly putting distance between them.

"Wha- what are we _doing?_ He's getting away!" Mantis yelled angrily.

Po stood stock still, hardly deterred by the low growling still emitted by his fellow Master as he stared intently at the still running bull. His movements were frenzied and uncontrolled. He was tripping every now and then on a row or two. He looked back only once, nearly causing himself to tumble in his haste.

Po shook his head. "No. He's not _getting_ away… he's _running_ away," he said quietly.

"Same difference!" Mantis yelled, writhing around, trying to get out of Viper's grip but obviously trying not to hurt her at the same time.

Tigress's growling stopped. She tilted her head, the fur of her cheek caressing Po's neck. "Po-"

"We need to go," Po said, cutting her off. He unwrapped his arm from her waist and started backing away. "Now. Guys, now! We need to get back into the trees, now!" He turned and ran, hearing the others move behind him.

They were over the path and in the trees in an instant and moved swiftly but stealthily between the branches, leaving barely a leaf brushed and not a single twig snapped. Only after several good yards of distance did Po feel a thump on his back and angry fingers in his shoulders.

"Dah!" He clenched his eyes shut and grit his teeth as his back was slammed against a tree, Tigress's steel grip on his shoulders, her claws just barely contained. He opened his eyes, meeting her furious gaze with one of equal measure.

"What was that back there!?" Tigress asked, her voice holding a low growl to accompany it's loud carry through the trees.

Po tightened his lips and lowered his head, holding her gaze with determination.

His silence worked in aggravating her further. "Do _not_ give me the intense stare treatment, Po. Answer my question!" she demanded.

"Tigress!" Viper slithered closer, her own aggravation obvious in her voice. "This is not how we treat each other-"

"But it's okay to let the enemy get away?" Mantis interrupted. "Viper, you pulled me back!"

"Because he's not our enemy!" she retorted, shooting him a steamy glare. "Were you completely blind out there?"

Crane fluttered his wings in frustration. "I have pretty good eyes, Viper, and that looked a _lot_ like Kai."

"But he didn't act like Kai," Monkey said, shaking his head. "He didn't even recognize us."

Mantis flung his foreclaws out sporadically. "That's because it's an _act!_ He's not gonna tell us he knows us! Not when he's been in hiding for five years!"

"Then _why_ would he say he recognizes me?" Viper shot back.

"Enough…"

All eyes shot to Po. He'd spoken so softly. But his voice held authority.

They all looked to see his face much calmer than it had been before, his eyes closed, almost as if meditating. "Tigress. Please let me go," he requested in that same soft voice.

Tigress eyed him for a moment. She took a slow deep breath. She then shifted her weight and released her grip, slowly lowering her arms as she stepped back.

Po didn't move for a moment, simply standing where he'd been held, eyes closed, head angled down. Finally, after what seemed like too long, he opened his eyes, though his gaze was unfocused.

"Po?" Tigress asked, much softer and more carefully than before. "What's going on?"

Po didn't look up as he stood from the tree, only to stoop down and sit on the ground, leaning his back against it once more as he crossed his legs. He placed his hands in his lap, his gaze still to the ground but far away.

The others looked between each other in concern before closing their distances, each one sitting or coming to rest within feet of their friend and fellow Master.

"Po?" Mantis ventured.

Po finally took a deep breath, closing his eyes again. He tightened his lips and shook his head, that strange yet familiar emotion tickling at the back of his mind. "That's not Kai," he said suddenly. He could hear the others reactions just in the changes of their breathing. He then held up a paw, hearing an intake of breath from Mantis and Tigress. "But it is definitely Kai."

Silence.

He opened his eyes and looked to see all of them regarding him in utter confusion. He nodded, looking down again. "I know that sounds weird. And I'm not sure if I can explain this well enough… but I'll try." He chewed on his lip for a moment as he tried to find words for the thoughts in his head. "There's no doubt in my mind that that is Kai." He looked up. "That is the same bull that we all fought and I defeated five years ago." He clenched his fingers together tightly in his lap. "But he's not the same _person_ he was back then." He looked to Viper. "You saw it, right?"

Viper's eyes widened slightly, before she looked down. She then looked back to him and nodded. "He… he's too afraid. He just… doesn't have the same demeanor…"

"How do you know that's real fear though?" Mantis asked. "How do you know that's not an act?"

"The real Kai was no actor," Monkey said, shaking his head with surety. "He saw no point."

Viper nodded. "That's true. But I know because of his heat."

Crane tilted his head, looking to her. "His heat?"

Viper nodded again. "We serpents, can feel body heat, see it, in a way that others can't. His heat was too high, even for this hot day, and his heart was beating way too fast." She shook her head. "That bull was genuinely afraid of us." She looked to Tigress. "He… he was terrified of you," she said quietly.

Tigress took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She looked to Po. "What are you saying then?" She asked, shaking her head. "Are you saying he... he, lost his memory?" she finished with a raised brow.

Po took a deep breath of his own. "I can't say that for sure, but…" he looked back to the ground, "… he really didn't recognize us. It was so obvious. And I would have at least expected him to recognize me." He shook his head. "And I highly doubt he could have simply forgotten us in five years."

"You think," all eyes turned to Crane, "you think he lost his memory five years ago? After you defeated him? Do you think he lost _all_ of it?"

Po looked up to him, biting the inside of his lip again. "I think so. He said he'd been here five years… he said he 'always' plowed the fields as if that was all he knew… if all he knows is this place for five years… then he must have forgotten _everything_ before that."

"We don't know that, though," Monkey interjected, sitting up on his leg, crossing the other over it. "We didn't even get to ask him about anything before five years ago."

"Do you remember his face, though?" Viper asked, looking to each of them. "When Po asked how he got here?"

Po looked down at that, remembering the fearful look in his eyes. "We need to figure this out," he said quietly.

"Hold on, hold on," Crane said, looking away and readjusting his wings. "Have we forgotten we have an actual reason for being here? We're searching for something, aren't we? We can't just start an investigation when we haven't even figured out what we're here for-"

"He's what we're here for," Po stated resolutely, his green irises meeting warm yellow.

Crane stared wide-eyed. So did the others.

"What?" Tigress asked, tilting her head and eyeing him in disbelief.

Po sat up straighter and readjusted his clasped fingers. He nodded. "He's what we were looking for," he said with surety.

Mantis flicked his antennae and shook his head. "What? You can't be serious!"

Po looked to him and huffed, angling his eyes up above them to the treetops. "I know it sounds strange. But I'm absolutely sure of it." He raised his paw again before the others could say more. "Just think about it." He looked to the others carefully. "What are the odds that Oogway himself would give us direction to a suddenly flourishing village, with Kai himself, alive and well and mortal, living there, and not mean for us to actually find _him?_ He made it clear that what we were looking for was here, in the most vague way possible. And think about it, think real hard." Po tapped his temple. "Do you really think he could just say to me, 'Hey Dragon Warrior, your old foe Kai, you know, my old brother in arms, the guy who tried to steal the chi of all Kung Fu Masters in china, that guy? He's the guy you need for this box that I'm not gonna say any more about.'" Po shrugged. "That sounds pretty weird and unbelievable, don't you think?"

"Yes actually, it does," Tigress said monotonously, staring at him with a blank expression. She then blinked and ran a paw down her face, running her fingers into her eyes. "Po… It's a really big coincidence, it really is, but that doesn't mean that he's what we're looking for."

Po leaned back against the tree, looking past them but not at anything in particular. He nodded slowly. "Trust me. He's our part one."

"But how do you know for sure?" Monkey asked, expressing the lost confusion that the others were feeling.

Po bit his lip. "Because… I didn't tell you everything Oogway told me in the Spirit Realm." He closed his eyes softly at their gasps of surprise.

"Brother!" Viper said in astonishment. "Why would you hold back information?"

Po opened his eyes, meeting their gazes. "Because," he shrugged, "I didn't realize it had to do with this… I didn't think it was directly related to this situation. But…" he looked to grass between his legs, his gaze growing distant, "… I realize now it had everything to do with this."

"What did he say, Po?" Tigress asked lowly.

Po looked to her. He looked to all of them. He then looked back to the grass, leaning forward and plucking a single blade. "He said… doing the right thing isn't easy. In fact, it's sometimes the hardest thing you'll ever do. But that doesn't make it any less right." He played with the strand between his fingers a moment before looking back up to them.

They all stared at him in some form of shock and awe.

He nodded before looking to Tigress. "It… it wasn't right to attack him. Not like this." Po felt his face mar and a strange ache sprung up into his chest from nowhere. "I mean… he doesn't even know his own name…"

"Maybe this is a kind of punishment." Mantis said suddenly. At the others' confused gazes, he shrugged. "I mean, he was so concerned about the fact he wasn't remembered. No one knew him. Maybe this is like a form of punishment… he doesn't even know himself now."

Po shook his head. "No. While that would be pretty sucky, I don't think it works if the person being punished doesn't understand what they're being punished for."

Mantis shrugged again. "Well, I… yeah." He looked away thoughtfully.

"Po," Tigress looked to him meaningfully. "Let's say this is correct. Let's say Oogway meant for you to find Kai… if he doesn't even remember he's Kai, then what help is he to us?"

Po took a deep breath and looked in the direction they had come from. "Maybe that's the right thing to do." He looked back to Tigress and raised a brow. "Help him remember."

"But why would we want him to remember?" Crane suddenly asked. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't want a repeat of five years ago," he said, shaking his head.

Po had no rebuttal for that. He looked down at his blade of grass, twirling it between his fingers again and again.

"Maybe, it won't repeat." All eyes turned to Viper, who was staring intently at the ground. She didn't seem to see them as she stared, almost trancelike at an invisible point beneath her.

"What do you mean?" Monkey finally asked for everyone.

Viper shook her head slightly, but didn't alter her gaze. "Maybe… maybe he's here for a reason."

Po raised his eyebrows. He tilted his head. "Huh?"

Viper finally looked up, her brilliant cyan eyes catching Po's. "Maybe he's here because he's _not_ going to do what he did before?"

Crane shook his head. "Well, we can't know that with him all amnesiac, now can we?" he asked in frustration.

"That's not what I mean," she said, shooting him a glare. She looked back to Po. "Oogway meant for us to find him. He went on about Po doing the right thing. Maybe the right thing _is_ to help him remember. Maybe he has to remember because… he has to help us. I mean," she glanced to the others, "if this line of thought is correct, then he's the first part of our Key. If he has to help us, he has to know who he is. And we have to help him remember who he is otherwise he can't help us, and he can't remember who he is _without_ us… and he has to remember… so he can _willingly_ help us… so he can…" her voice trailed off and she looked to the ground. She looked like she was about to cry. But being a serpent, that wasn't going to happen.

Po realized he'd been holding his breath, and let it out as he watched her look to the ground. His brain felt light and heavy at the same time and he suddenly realized what she had been about to say. "… so he can redeem himself," he whispered.

"What?" Tigress shot. "No. He doesn't deserve redemption," she said in a near growl.

Po looked to her, feeling a rawness in his chest that he hadn't felt in a long time. It must have translated into his expression because Tigress suddenly looked taken aback, concern spreading across her features. "Tigress," Po's voice was soft as he held her gaze, "who are we to say that?"

"People who've suffered because of what he did!" Crane answered loudly. "Did you forget everything he did?"

Po looked to Crane and shook his head. "No, I didn't forget."

"Then how could you say that?" Crane asked indignantly.

"Have you ever made a mistake, Crane?" Viper suddenly asked, an edge to her voice.

Crane looked to her, a feather eyebrow raising high. "Yeah, I've made too many to count, but what _he_ did was no mistake!"

"And what if it was!?" Viper suddenly yelled.

They all grew quiet, watching her as she pinned Crane down with the graceful anger that only a serpent could muster.

Viper rose up taller, her eyes quivering. "We've _all_ made mistakes. Some of them took a lifetime to learn from. Do you not remember how we treated Po?" The words cut the air like a whip. "We were all _horrible_ to him and we didn't think we were doing anything wrong." She slithered closer to Crane, her eyes seeming to freeze him on the spot. "And here's another one for you. A father that couldn't show love to his daughter, and didn't realize until it was almost too late how much he really cared for her and how wrong he'd treated her for most of her life."

The silence was deafening.

Viper was nose to nose with Crane, her unblinking eyes seeming to bore holes into his soul. "We've all made mistakes. Even when we thought there was nothing wrong with our actions. And we've all been forgiven. Who are we to judge and say someone else is not worthy of that same forgiveness when that someone shouldn't even be here, and yet somehow, some way, they are, and walking the land right now."

Crane didn't move. He didn't blink. He didn't breathe. The others remained still as well.

Viper's words seemed to hit right to the core and suddenly they were all unsure.

Viper herself finally looked down. She lowered her head and curled in on herself, wrapping her tail around her body in a tight coil as she stared at the ground. She shook her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Po was still a moment before coming back to himself. He reached out for Viper, but was surprised when Crane's wing beat him to it.

Crane lowered himself, carefully coming to rest his long, nimble legs flat on the ground, something he rarely ever did. He draped his wing around Viper's neck and took a deep breath, sighing it out slowly as he sat there with her.

They all sat there for a while, saying nothing, looking nowhere in particular, as they digested the words Viper had spoken.

"I'm sorry, guys," Viper finally said in a small voice, eyes still aimed at the ground. "I… I don't know what came over me. I just-"

"You're passionate," Crane interrupted, his wing still around her. He tilted his head and looked her in the eye as she brought her head back up. "It's okay. We've known this for a while now," he said with a smile.

Viper smiled lightly, although it was a sober smile, almost sad. "I… I just…"

"Have a point."

All eyes turned to Tigress. She was looking to the ground just beyond her crossed legs, her paws tucked into her silk sleeves. She looked up to Viper. "You have a point." She then looked to Po. "You both do."

Po took a deep breath, tightening his lips as he nodded minutely.

"But I don't think it's wise to throw caution to the wind," Tigress continued. "We can't just pretend the past didn't happen. But we do still need to look to the future. We were sent here for a reason," she looked back to Po, "by someone we trust completely. We need to handle this carefully."

Po sat up straight, abandoning the grass leaf that he'd held on to this whole time. "I say, we wait and watch." He looked around to all of them. "We spend some time gathering information, figure out the inner workings of the village, of his life, what he does here, how the villagers act around him. See what's up and what's what. Does that sound like a good idea?"

"We'll have to be sneaky," Mantis said suddenly, foreclaw to his chin in thought. "We've already spent too much time snooping around today. And we were supposed to be passing through. We'll have to stick to the shadows and play spy."

"Isn't that what you two are for?" Monkey said with a grin, pointing at Mantis and Viper separately.

"Hey, we can't do it all by ourselves!" Mantis said, a playful tint to his voice as Viper giggled from her position still next to Crane.

"We'll scope everything out in the morning," Tigress said tiredly. "For now, I think it's time we get some sleep."

Almost as if waking from a trance, the others realized how dark the sky had gotten.

"Yeah," Po said, resisting the sudden urge to yawn. "Sleep sounds great!"

As they all started to settle down for the night, not one of them noticed twin glints in the distance, disappearing with a near silent rustle of underbrush.

 **XoXoX**

"I got this."

"Mantis, what do you mean you got this, hey-"

"Shh!" Mantis hopped away from Viper's voice, skittering along the wall of the farmhouse to get to the window.

In the predawn hours, it had been decided that Crane would take to the sky and survey the village and surrounding land, reporting back with anything interesting. Monkey would take to the inner village, sneaking around and, if caught, play prankster and create some colorful excuse as to his continued presence, all the while trying to gather information about the village workings and the folks who resided there. Mantis and Viper, being the smallest and easiest to hide themselves in an instant, would be the ones to actually follow Kai around. Po and Tigress were too obvious and too different. Even trying to hide among the small houses they'd still draw attention, and their presence might cause alarm. So, it was decided they'd stay on the outskirts, sticking to the trees that bordered the crop fields.

They had all been sent on their respective tasks, Mantis and Viper hurrying to the farmhouse that headed the field Kai had been plowing. It appeared that that farmhouse was the one that headed all the fields in the area, including the grain field, so they could only assume the surrounding land and the house belonged to the same person. Either way, the bull had run in that direction the evening before, so they'd decided to start there in their search for him.

Sure enough, as Mantis and Viper had made it close, they saw Kai walking from around the back and entering through a side door. What had slowed their progress, however, was the notice of a large yak walking up the main way. Mantis and Viper had sunk deep into the grass, watching as the large male made his way to the house. He walked gracefully for his size, though with a lag in his right leg, accompanied by a lean onto his thick walking staff. He looked like a shaman, or a chieftain, with multiple layers of robes, swirling designs carved into his horns, and his shaggy, orangey mane hanging around his neck in beaded braids. His mane was pulled back from his face however, a large braid trailing down his neck to reveal deep brown eyes, and a stoic gaze. Mantis and Viper merely watched with stillness as he made it to the house, letting his staff hit heavily on the porch to announce his presence before he even got to the door. When it opened, they both had to suppress gasps of surprise.

At the door had been the she-goose vendor from the previous day. She had looked around suspiciously before finally opening the door wide, waving him in.

And now, Mantis found himself carefully sneaking up the outer wall to a window, trying to listen in on the muffled conversation drifting into the brisk morning air. He stopped in his tracks as he heard a hiss from Viper. He looked back and waived his foreclaw aggravatedly at her. She rolled her eyes. He shook his head and continued, deciding to go to the very top and lean down.

"What do you mean, 'no'?!"

Mantis's eyes widened as he peeked through the top slats of the window shutter, seeing Kai sitting on the floor, head down, while the she-goose stood glaring at the yak. Mantis tilted his head, hoping to catch more words.

"I mean exactly that," came a deep, resonant voice.

 _Definitely the yak,_ Mantis thought, flicking an antenna.

"Strangers come attack my hand and you can't spare one of those boys of yours to watch him?!" the she-goose replied.

"We have a lot to do, Ling. Everyone does. This trade season has already started out busy, and we still have to prepare for the coming cold. As you know, there is actually wood nearby to be gathered. We may not have to travel for it, but cultivating it takes no less time than it ever has," the yak replied smoothly.

The she-goose, Ling, flung her wings up, ruffling her feathers as she let out random sounds of belligerence. "I don't want him to babysit, Gidahn, I just want him to watch the brute for a day! I don't know why everyone keeps attacking my bull-"

"Everyone isn't attacking him, Ling," the yak said, halfway rolling his eyes.

"Yes they are, you saw it yourself!" she yelled.

"I saw the wound, which we know was a result of a careless old man being angry for no reason, which happened two years ago with no other incidents since," the yak, Gidahn replied, looking at her the same way a parent would an impudent child.

"But-"

"Harsh language doesn't count," Gidahn said, cutting her off. "Besides, if it did, you'd be in trouble wouldn't you," he stated more than asked.

"Ah!" Ling took a step back, a wing covering her chest as she looked at Gidahn indignantly. "I can talk to him however I want! He's _my_ bull!"

"Mmm. So you've said." Gidahn glanced away. "Many times."

"Don't you take that tone with me!" Ling yelled, removing her wing from her chest to shake a feather at the irreverent Yak. "He'd have starved and died of sickness if it wasn't for me!"

The yak merely stared.

The she-goose fumed.

Finally, Gidahn heaved a sigh. "I was not exaggerating when I said we have a lot to do. There are more houses to heat this winter, and more demand for wood. I need Mel and Tai to keep working. However, I have things I need in the village. I will stay around longer and keep my eyes on him for you while he makes his rounds."

Ling flailed her wings again. "They attacked him in the fields, not the village! What good will that do?"

Mantis watched as the yak glanced to Kai, head still down. "We shall see," he said simply.

The she-goose huffed and muttered under her breath, turning around and waddling into her tiny kitchen. Mantis watched as the yak merely watched her, and Kai, or Bobo now, simply stayed in his sitting position, head down, eyes to the floor. Mantis squinted, feeling a tinge of discomfort at the sight. _So weird to see him all… submissive…_ he thought, glancing back to the she-goose who came waddling back.

"What are you waiting for then?" Ling asked angrily. "Get going, both of you!" she said, finally addressing the bull sitting on the floor.

He started at her address, looking up but away quickly. He made to stand but froze as she rushed him.

Mantis covered his mouth with a foreclaw, panicked for just a moment. Then he saw what she had in her wing.

Ling shoved a single carrot into his hoof before whacking him in the arm. "Go, get your work done!" she commanded before turning around and waddling quickly back to the kitchen. "And don't forget to close the door behind you!" she yelled.

The bull nodded even though she wasn't looking and stood, glancing to the yak and standing still, as if waiting direction. Gidahn was still a moment himself before turning towards the door.

Mantis took that as his que and scurried back down the wall, waving his foreclaws at Viper. He got to her and motioned for the side of the house. "Hurry, grass, hide!" he whispered.

They made it into the thick grass at the side of the house just in time to hear the door open. They listened patiently as they heard two sets of hooves walk across the porch and down the step to the main way. As the sound of hoofsteps started to disappear, they peeked their heads up to see the two walking slowly but steadily down the path and towards the Village.

"So, what did you hear?" Viper asked quietly.

"I'll fill you in while we follow," Mantis responded.

 **XoXoX**

Po sat quietly by the tree, looking to the ground as he tried to keep his mind clear.

It wasn't working.

Whether it was because he was in an unfamiliar environment, he was bad at meditation anyway, or because Tigress was just a few yards away practicing stances, he wasn't sure. Though, the fact that he seemed to be extra aware of Tigress today was a tad concerning.

Po took a deep breath, trying to get his mind on track. However, no matter what he did, his brain floated back to Tigress. Something was nagging him. He'd already thought about it several times during the morning hours. And now apparently, he was going to do it again. He rolled his eyes. Finally, he sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his eyes in frustration.

"You've done that three times now. What's wrong?"

Po started lightly and looked to the graceful feline not far to his right, still in pose, right arm outstretched, left leg back, eyes intently focused on something not there. Po rested his hands in the space created by his crossed legs and looked down timidly. "Sorry. I didn't realize I was being so loud."

Tigress smirked lightly, though kept stance. "You weren't. And that doesn't answer the question."

Po looked up then back to the ground, knowing she was waiting for him to speak. He huffed lightly and reached a paw up to scratch the back of his neck. "It's not important- well… I mean…" His voice trailed off as he bit his lip, looking away.

"It's so not important that you can't figure out how to say it properly?" Tigress asked.

Po looked up to her. She had that hint of a playful smirk that rarely ever showed itself. He couldn't help a small smile. He looked down again, bringing his hands to rest in his lap, toying with his fingers. "I, um… I was thinking about yesterday," he said softly.

"What about it?" came her nonchalant question.

"Are you mad at me?"

The question was out of his mouth before he could stop himself and he bit his lip a little too late. He closed his eyes for a moment, anxiety filling his stomach as the silence stretched on. He then heard her move. He tightened his lips as he opened his eyes, seeing her fiery orange irises looking back at him with concern.

"Why would I be mad at you, Po?" she asked, kneeling in front of him.

Po heaved a sigh. "Because I… well." He glanced away. "I didn't _fight_ you or _challenge_ you… but-"

"You stopped me."

Po looked back at her with wide eyes.

Her expression was uncharacteristically soft. She looked down, before moving to sit, crossing her legs as she mirrored his posture. She sat tall and straight, but rested her paws on her knees as if relaxed. Tigress finally looked back up. "You did the right thing, Po."

Po swallowed his anxiety, her words wonderful to hear but hard to accept at the same time. "I… I could have done something different. I didn't have to-"

"It was your only option," Tigress said, cutting him off. "You couldn't have moved Kai out of the way without harming him or yourself."

Po's eyes widened at those words. "Huh?"

Tigress's expression became rueful and she looked to the ground between them. "Po… I wasn't blind to the look on his face. I also wasn't blind to his posture. I could see that he wasn't moving right to defend himself. I could see that he was frozen in fear." She took a small breath and sighed softly. "I was just too angry to care," she admitted quietly.

Po simply started at her, shocked to hear those words, but also relieved at the same time.

Tigress looked back up. "You are right, Po. He's not the warrior he used to be. At least, not right now." Her eyes drifted to the side, as if remembering the moment. "And the thing about any large folk, warrior or not, if they don't have control over their weight, it's almost dangerous depending on the situation." Her gaze met his again, but she managed a small smile. "Remember the musician's village? When you got hit by the hammer?"

Po looked away, biting his lip in embarrassment. "Well…"

Tigress let out a light chuckle. "Now, think about Kai, who probably weighs twice as much as you."

Po's face straightened as he did exactly as she said. Heavy, tall, uncontrolled. He felt his eyebrows draw down as he mentally ran through the action of jumping at Kai instead of Tigress. He looked back to her and tilted his head. "I probably wouldn't have moved him far… and you probably would have hit me instead," he said as if thinking out loud.

Tigress nodded. "I think so."

Po held her gaze for a bit before looking to the ground. "So… that was the best decision," he mused. He saw Tigress move and looked up to her as she placed a paw on his shoulder.

"Yes," she said with surety. "And I can't be mad at you for making a sound decision."

Po smiled almost instantly, relief and happiness rushing him like a warm wind. He nodded to her and played with his fingers compulsively. "Thank you," he said in a soft tone.

Tigress smiled that small, kind smile of hers and removed her paw, sitting straight again. "Now, you were having trouble meditating?"

Po shrugged. "Yeah, well, I think the troublesome part is finally out of the way," he said brightly.

Tigress raised an elegant eyebrow. "That's good to know. But you still haven't succeeded."

Po suppressed a laugh, shaking his head instead. "Yeah, I'm not good at meditating anyway." He looked to her sheepishly.

It was Tigress's turn to shrug. "Maybe you just haven't found the right meditation partner," she suggested.

"Oh?" Po asked curiously.

Tigress gave that subtly playful smirk again. "Let's give it a try."

Po smiled lightly and nodded. "Okay."

 **XoXoX**

"I can't believe this," Viper whispered angrily.

Mantis glanced to her but said nothing as he continued watching with her from inside an empty barrel they'd managed to sneak into.

"This is the fifth house- the fifth! And no one's even said thank you!" Viper hissed.

Mantis huffed lightly. "Yeah… I noticed that too."

They had followed mister Gidahn and Kai all the way into the village, careful to hang far back and make as little noise as possible through the rustling grass. Once they'd made it to the village proper, the yak excused himself to gather whatever it was he needed and the bull went about his business. Which appeared to be tending to everyone else's business.

He seemed to have a route of houses he was expected to show up at, and upon showing, he would be met by the resident and given one or several tasks to do. The tasks were always burdening tasks, such as hefting stuff down or up, carrying stuff to or from, pulling overloaded carts, and even pulling up buckets from the water wells. He performed every single task without hesitation and did exactly what he was told without question.

It was strange enough to see Kai the Collector, former Supreme Warlord of China, Beast of Vengeance, Master of Pain doing such menial tasks like a common burdener. But, what was even stranger was that he never received a single ounce of payment, not even foodstuffs, which was common in small villages, or even a kind word, or even a simple thank you. He was told what to do, he did it, and then he was waved off to go to the next house.

He wasn't just acting as a burdener for these people; he was being treated as a servant. Though, even servants received a kind "thank you" so it was perhaps more appropriate to say he was being treated as a slave.

Mantis started lightly as he heard an aggressive hiss next to him. He looked at Viper and held back a cringe at the utter disgust and anger on her face. He shook his head lightly and reached over, patting her scales with the flat of his foreclaw. "Don't get worked up over it," he said, though he could hear the lack of sincerity in his own voice.

Viper didn't notice. "And how am I not supposed to get worked up?" she fumed quietly. "This is wrong, and you know it."

Mantis was quiet a moment, looking up to her face. He flicked an antenna and brought his foreclaws in front of him, rubbing them together. "Is it?"

Viper's eyes went wide and she looked to him in shock. "Mantis!"

"Well, I mean- oop!" He covered his mouth with his foreclaws, having accidentally spoken at full volume. "I mean," he continued in a whisper, "after everything he did? After what we went through?"

Viper looked at him in utter disbelief. "Mantis, what-"

"Do you _not_ remember?" he asked, his own disbelief taking over. "Don't you remember what it was like, being like that? Trapped in your own body, like, like it wasn't yours anymore, and…" he trailed off, his eyes drifting to the floor of the barrel.

It was quiet for a moment before Mantis heard Viper shifting, the tip of her tail coming to rest on his tiny shoulder. He looked up to see her looking down as well, her eyes unfocused.

"I do remember, Mantis," she said quietly. "It was like being a string-doll, strings you couldn't see being guided by a hand you couldn't fight. But… making your own decisions too…" Her eyes grew pained in remembrance.

Mantis looked back down. He remembered all too well. It still hurt, though, not nearly as much as it had, to know that he'd thrown Monkey around as he had done. He remembered going for it, just flinging him like a ragdoll with all his strength, something he had only ever attempted to do while they sparred. He remembered the faces of the pandas in the Secret Village, all determined to fight back, that excitement, but that hint of fear when he got the best of one. He shook his head and looked up right as he heard Viper move to him. He stared. Her cyan eyes were so close to his, and in them was something that he had always admired about Viper.

Compassion.

"I remember, Mantis," she said resolutely. "But I also remember who I am. And that is to trust my instincts and do what is right, even if right was not done to me."

Mantis felt his face mar into something of a grimace as conflicting emotions rent his chest almost physically. "Is it… is it _right_ , Viper? Is it right to help someone like him?"

Viper's determination didn't falter. She coiled her tail around Mantis, a serpentine equivalent of a loose hug, and smiled softly. "I don't think he's who he used to be, Mantis. And even if he is by the end of all this, it's still not right to allow him to be used like this."

Mantis slouched into the touch of her tail, pulling his foreclaws up to hold it closer in reciprocation. He looked down for a moment before chuckling lightly. "Well, if anything, it is ironic," he commented.

Viper ducked her head and tightened her lips, though she couldn't hide the upward quirks at the very corners of her mouth. She looked to him and raised a brow ridge. "Shut up, Mantis," she said, barely containing her amusement.

Mantis chuckled. "You know you- eh?"

The moment broke between them as a commotion could be heard outside. They looked back out the peep holes to see Kai, who had been hefting two large water buckets, now cowering to the ground, almost on all fours as the buckets rolled away, the water wasted on the ground. He was looking at something far to the left and he looked almost as afraid as he had been yesterday. They heard shouts coming from the direction he was looking and struggled to look through the cracks in the old, withered barrel they were in.

Viper gasped. "Monkey!"

He was in the middle of the street, village-folk all gathered around him, talking and shouting angrily. Apparently, he hadn't been sneaky enough.

"Bobo! What are you doing?"

Mantis took his eyes from the scene with Monkey to look back to Kai. An older pig had come out the front door of the house.

"Why did you spill my water?"

Kai, or Bobo, glanced to the elder pig for a moment before looking back and pointing to the scene. "He, he's one of, of people… they came after me yesterday."

The pig looked to the scene then back to the bull. "So? The others have him now. Get back to work," he said, waving his arm at him. "That water isn't going to carry itself."

The bull looked from the pig to the scene down the street, apparently conflicted about what to do.

Mantis couldn't help a pang of sympathy. Though, he wasn't sure how he felt about the feeling. _Why are feelings so complicated?_ he thought randomly. He then perked up as he heard a familiar voice.

"What's going on here?"

He looked back and both he and Viper watched wide-eyed as the yak, Gidahn, suddenly came into view.

"This guy is a troublemaker!" one of the villagers piped up.

"He was passing through yesterday with a bunch of others, and today he's snooping around everyone's houses!" another added.

"I was doing no such thing!" Monkey said, holding his paws up. "I was just lost!

Mantis could practically feel Viper roll her eyes as he rested his head to his foreclaw. "No one's gonna believe that," he whispered.

"You expect us to believe that?" one of the villagers asked as if on cue.

Mantis looked back up and did a doubletake. Gidahn wasn't looking at Monkey or the other villagers. He was looking beyond everyone. Mantis whipped to the other side of the barrel and saw Kai looking straight ahead, still fearful and unmoving. "They're looking at each other," Mantis whispered.

"I think Monkey's catching on," Viper added, her eyes still on the scene.

Mantis whipped back and saw Monkey looking in the direction of Kai, his eyes wide. "Bail out," Mantis goaded under his breath. "Bail out, bail out!" he hissed.

As if hearing him, Monkey turned back to the yak. "Well, time to go!" he said cheerily, despite the stone-cold gaze now being leveled at him. With that, he jumped and turned midair, bouncing off the yak's head and flipping up onto a roof.

"Don't let him get away!"

"Follow him!"

The villagers took off around the house trying to follow as Monkey dashed off across the rooftops.

Viper and Mantis had their eyes glued to the yak. He had remained in his place, his gaze now more distant, possibly still looking at the bull down the street. He seemed thoughtful to a fault.

"Gidahn!"

Viper and Mantis both whipped to the other side of the barrel, seeing the elder pig waving at the yak.

"Gidahn, come see what's wrong with Bobo. He won't move."

Gidahn started to come as bidden, but as Viper and Mantis looked back and forth between them, it was obvious that the yak had paid almost no mind to the villager's words. They watched Kai sink to his knees as Gidahn got closer, lowering his head and fisting his hooves to the ground.

The yak stood in front of the bull, letting his walking staff thud loudly to the ground. He eyed him for a moment before turning to the pig. "Please give me a moment with him." It was more of a command than a request.

The elder pig looked between them before nodding. He turned and went inside, making a point to close the door behind him.

Viper and Mantis watched with bated breath as the yak turned his gaze back to the bull.

He was quiet for almost too long a moment. He then reached out, gripping one of the bull's horns and forcing his head up slowly. Wide, fearful eyes looked up, as if waiting for punishment. Instead, the yak let go, and held the bull's gaze as he gripped his walking staff with both hooves. "You recognize that person." Gidahn said more than asked.

Kai became visibly nervous, swallowing anxiously before nodding. "Yes."

"Where from?" came a simple question.

"Ye… yesterday. He was one of the ones that came after me…" Kai answered quietly.

"Mmm…" Gidahn seemed to give in to thought for a moment, eyes drifting off to the side. He then heaved a sigh, letting his breath out slowly. "Continue as you were," he ordered.

"But! What if-"

"Bobo." Gidahn looked at him, though with such stoicism it was hard to determine if he held him in a stern gaze or a comforting one.

The bull lowered his head, but looked up from under his brow timidly. "What if they come back?" he whispered.

Gidahn was quiet a moment before reaching down, placing a hoof gently onto the bull's head. "Let me worry about that. Continue as you were," he said in a softer tone.

Viper and Mantis looked to one another, mirroring each other's confusion.

Mantis shook his head, looking back to the scene. "Who _is_ this guy?"

 **XoXoX**

"Are you sure they weren't found out?" Po asked again.

"Positive. Even I don't know where they were," Monkey answered with a shrug.

Crane huffed lightly. "Are you sure you don't want me to scout-"

"No," Tigress answered, cutting him off. Her eyes were glued to the village in the distance, trying to see anything through the trees. "They noticed Monkey too quickly. They seem to be more observant than we thought and they are definitely more alert now. We don't need them seeing you and tracing your path back to us here."

"Yeah, but it's been three hours," Crane said with a shrug.

"Still not a risk we should take," Tigress responded.

Po huffed lightly as he continued his pacing.

After Monkey's relatively swift return, having only been in gone a little under two hours, they couldn't help but worry for Mantis and Viper's safety. When Crane returned not long after, he reported nothing out of the ordinary. That was somewhat of a relief, but it didn't make them feel better as the minutes ticked by and slowly turned to hours.

"Maybe they have nothing to report back for?" Monkey suggested, sitting cross-legged and tapping his chin with his fingers. "It didn't look like much was going on when I did see Kai. Just regular burdening. Well," he shrugged, "he did drop his buckets, but I think that was because he saw me."

"And that's nothing to report on," Crane commented. He lowered his head in thought and readjusted his wings. "Maybe even Mantis can't risk getting away without being seen," he suggested, looking to Po and Tigress. "Maybe there's just too much traffic from the villagers."

"You think they're stuck somewhere and can't even follow Kai?" Monkey asked.

Po stopped pacing and looked to Monkey. "That could be a thing." He looked to Tigress. "What do you think?"

Tigress finally turned from her spot and leaned back against the tree, crossing her arms. "That's plausible," she said, her right ear flicking.

Po huffed again. "I hope that's not the case. Then we'll have to wait until nightfall and the whole thing would have been for nothing."

"I'm sure they're fine," Crane said, although with a hint of dejectedness.

"Monkey?" Tigress asked, a strange note in her voice.

All eyes turned to her. She made a point to look at each one of them, then raised her right paw. "When you saw Kai, you saw no evidence of them around?" she asked. She made a fist and shook it just barely, almost like a tremor. She then flicked her right ear, making a point to look them all in the eye again.

She was signaling that they were being watched. Someone was in hiding to her right.

Monkey stood from his cross-legged position and knelt, resting an arm one knee as if he'd just been changing positions. "That's right. They were doing a good job of hiding, though I was a bit preoccupied myself," he said with a smile in his voice, seriousness in his eyes.

Tigress, looked down, bringing her right paw to her muzzle as if thinking. "Hmmm." She moved her thumb and flicked her nose. She did it quickly as if scratching, but pronounced enough for them to see that she'd done it five times.

Their watcher was five yards away.

Crane took a couple steps back and leaned back against the tree behind him. "Well, let's not overthink it, huh? I mean, they know what they're doing," he said, adjusting himself. He kept his eyes on Tigress, but they were unfocused.

Po resisted the urge to swallow his nerves, recognizing immediately that Crane was readying himself to pounce, being the one facing the direction Tigress was motioning towards. He took a deep breath and crossed his arms, adjusting his feet. "I dunno. I don't think we're walking into a trap, but, something seems fishy," he said, looking to Tigress himself.

Tigress looked to him as she stood from the tree. "Exactly." She looked to crane and nodded curtly.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye thanks to practiced precision. Crane kicked off from the tree and raced into the foliage five yards away; Monkey jumped up to the branches, swinging from one, two and then hopping down as a tiny screech was heard from the underbrush; Po hopped in place and oriented himself, estimating where the spy would try to escape to. Suddenly a gray blur popped out of the foliage trying to dodge through the bushes uphill. Po jumped and rolled, landing in front of it. He gasped as he realized it was a bunny. Big blue eyes widened as it jumped and bounced off his belly, quickly running the other way.

Only to be caught by the ears in Tigress's strong grip.

Po huffed lightly, his heart still pumping from the excitement. He stood and hurried over, Crane and Monkey making their way over as well. He tilted his head as he examined the little thing.

The mottled grey and white ball of fluff wasn't dressed like a normal bunny, wearing trimmed up clothes that were hiked up its arms and legs even further, its limbs more visible and free to move. It had a well-made and sturdy belt, for a bunny, looking like it was made to have a bunch of things hooked to it. He raised his eyebrow, getting a funny feeling at the back of his neck. _Something doesn't seem right,_ he thought.

Tigress held the bunny close to the ground so it's feet could touch, as not to cause any more pain than necessary. However, her gaze was as fiery as ever. "Okay. You're going to tell us your name, and what you're doing here," Tigress ordered strongly.

The bunny squeezed its lips shut, eyes darting from Tigress to the others.

Monkey came around, lowering himself close, but not uncomfortably so. "We aren't going to hurt you. We just want to know why you were watching us," he said gently.

The bunny looked to him and did nothing for a moment. It then closed its eyes and shook its head.

Monkey chuckled lightly, sinking his body down and crossing his forearms on the ground. "At least tell us your name, huh?" He then glanced from the bunny to Tigress then back. "And I'll have my friend at least let go of your ears, yah?"

The bunny blinked open those massive blue eyes, and seemed to think on the proposal. It then shut them tight again and shook its head, crossing its tiny arms over its chest.

Po finally swallowed his nerves, and odd anxious feeling at the back of his chest and tickling his throat. He turned to Crane, getting the bird's attention. He put his finger to his mouth in a shushing motion when Crane looked up. He then pointed up and made a circling motion with his paw.

Crane nodded without hesitation and suddenly hopped into the air, taking flight in near silence.

Po looked down to catch Tigress's gaze. She looked back to the bunny quickly, however, setting it down more securely on the ground.

"Listen, little one," she said, her voice gentler, "we really don't want to hurt you. But we don't appreciate being watched either. Do you understand?" she asked.

The bunny opened its eyes slowly, meeting the orangey irises of the larger feline without faltering. It blinked and bit its lip, apparently considering what to say. Finally, the bunny tilted its head forward, looking deep into Tigress's eyes.

"Do you?" came the bunny's small, feminine voice.

Tigress, Po and Monkey blinked in unison, eyes now glued to the tiny bunny in front of them.

"Do… do I what?" Tigress asked, confusion obvious in her voice.

"Do _you_ understand?"

Po whipped around, and Monkey and Tigress looked up, searching for the source of the deep, resonating voice that had just rang out through the trees. They found their target immediately.

A large yak stood in a gap in the trees a few yards uphill, deep brown eyes regarding them stoically. On either side of him stood another yak, each one appearing younger with more angry expressions on their faces. All three were dressed in multiple colorful robes, though the elder had more layers, and each one held a thick walking staff. However, the tightness with which they each held their staffs gave the impression they were used for more than walking.

The elder held his gaze on the group, lowering his head only slightly. "My name, though not of your concern, is Gidahn," he said smoothly. Then, a bare hint of aggressiveness colored his expression. "And I'd like you to release my charge."

 **XxXxX**

* * *

 **Author's note: Viper says the word "string-doll" when remembering how it felt to be a Jombie. I originally used the word "marionette", and that is basically what she's referencing. However, thinking on it further, this would not be a word she would have known as this is ancient China and the word is a French word that came into use in the 1600's. That being said, I don't know if they had dolls of that type back then, so my presentation of one will have to be another indication artistic merit. (I'm probably putting too much thought into it, but, yeah...)**

 **On another note, I've just recently made a fandom/art blog on tumblr where I'll be posting random art (sporadically) that relates to this fanfiction as well as the others I've written. There isn't much on there now, but there is a preliminary picture of Gidahn (if anyone is curious), though, his design might change a bit over time. The blog is under the same name, SheyConYamo.**

 **Thank you for the read! Have a good day or night and a wonderful time~**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Kung Fu Panda, nor am I in any way affiliated with it's creators. All belongs to DreamWorks.**

 **I only claim the storyline and OC's.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4~***

Po took a slow deep breath.

He kept his eyes locked with those of the yak up in front of him. He could feel the tension of Tigress and Monkey beside him. Po raised a paw to the newcomers slowly, palm out in a placating gesture. "Listen, we just-"

"Do as I said first," Gidahn said, cutting him off. "Talk comes after."

Po lowered his head, then finally broke the stare down to look at Tigress. She had already lowered her paw well enough, all she needed to do was let go. She glanced to him. He nodded.

Tigress nodded back and released her grip. The bunny shot away instantly. "We weren't going to hurt her," she said.

The bunny hopped through the brush with ease. She hopped in place for a moment in front of Gidahn. He nodded to her before the other yak to his left lowered his arm. She giggled and jumped to the younger male, climbing up his arm to sit on his shoulder.

Gidahn looked back to the group, his expression stoic as a rock wall. He then took a deep breath of his own, leaning against the staff and tilting his head, as if getting a better look at them all. He flicked a shaggy ear. "You were saying."

Po quirked an eyebrow at that but nodded none-the-less. "We just wanted to know why she was watching us," he said.

"Funny," Gidahn said without even a hint of amusement, "I was wondering the same of you."

"We aren't watching you," Tigress said as she stood.

Gidahn huffed through his nose. "That's right. Your target is the bull."

Silence.

Po swallowed his nerves, resisting the urge to glance to the others as he tightened his lips. He bit the inside of his lip in thought. "How about," he raised his paws hopefully, "you tell us what you know, what you've heard… and we'll tell you the truth behind it?" he asked in suggestion.

Gidahn just barely raised an eyebrow as the yak to his right scoffed and the one to his left merely narrowed his eyes. "What an idea," Gidahn commented monotonously.

"Here's a thought," the younger yak to his right started, "how about you tell us why you're after him, and then we tell you to leave," he said, gripping his staff tighter, eyes narrowing under his scruff.

"He's not who you think he is," Tigress said quickly.

"Oh?" Gidahn responded. "You have yet to ask who I think he is. And you have proven yourself not to be a mind reader."

"Lets start with something else," Po said suddenly. "How about we introduce ourselves." He shrugged. "I mean, we know your name, but you don't know ours, right?"

"Tigress, Monkey, your bird friend is Crane, and the two missing are Viper and Mantis," Gidahn said smoothly.

Po stared. He could feel the stillness from his fellow masters as well. "You… you know who we are?"

Gidahn's gaze remained unchanging, his mask of stoicism still in place. "I received word of strange newcomers. Five of them bore no name but that which they were. Their dress of different make than these parts, and their carry strangely graceful." He finally raised a brow as he regarded the panda. "The villagers' descriptions made exception for you, _Master_ Panda."

Po felt the fur along the back of his neck bristle. "You know who we _are_ ," he said more than asked.

Gidahn inclined his head. "I would have known simply by sight, had I seen you before our _fine denizens_."

Monkey moved forward, eyeing the yak suspiciously. "How is it you know us, but they don't?"

Gidahn met his gaze without waver. "I have left the boundaries of this village many times. Most of the villagers here have been here for decades, and have had no inclination to leave or hear any word from the rest of China. That is _why_ they are here. They want the isolation."

"And you?" Tigress asked, suspicion staining her voice as well.

Gidahn looked to her without even a hint of the reserve that others would normally have while looking into the eyes of Master Tigress. "I like the quiet," he said simply.

"So," Po tilted his head curiously, "you know who we are. You know we're interested in the bull. That being said… who do you think he is?" He raised an eyebrow and offered a friendly quick of his lips. "You know, since we aren't mind readers."

Gidahn redirected his gaze, but his stoic mask remained in place. "You first."

Po narrowed his eyes at that. He examined the yak closely, taking in his expression, his eyes, his stance. He focused on his peripheral vision, seeing the other two just as weary. _These are not simple villagers,_ he thought. _And this yak knows exactly what's going on._

Po lowered his head, keeping his eyes locked with Gidahn's. "He's our friend," he said simply. He could practically feel Tigress and Monkey stop breathing beside him, but he didn't hear them move. _Good, stay still, don't give anything away,_ he thought.

Finally, a break from stoicism.

A disbelieving snort came from the yak's nose. He narrowed his eyes as he tightened his grip on his staff. "Oh? And it's taken you five years to find him?"

Po nodded. "Kinda hard to find someone when you don't know where they are," he stated.

"You didn't think to track him, then?" Gidahn asked, tilting his head.

"You assume he left behind tracks to follow," Po said resolutely.

Gidahn stared silently for a moment. "You're lying," he stated simply in a flat voice.

Po tilted his head in a sharp nod. "And you might as well be." He then stood straight and took a step forward, his arms to his sides and his fists clenched. "You know exactly who he is," he said, the statement nearly an accusation.

Gidahn narrowed his eyes again, both his shaggy ears flicking as if annoyed. "I know nothing more than what I think, and with no evidence, my thoughts are simply that."

Po could have smiled. "Don't even pretend. I can tell you're smart, you _know_ ," he said, pointing at the yak. "And your evidence is right here," he said, gesturing to himself and the other masters. "Why would we be here after some random bull that doesn't even know his name?" he asked.

"I don't know," Gidahn answered. "And I don't care."

"You should," Tigress spoke up. "He doesn't belong here."

Gidahn took a deep breath as he looked to the feline, standing a little straighter as he readjusted his grip on his staff. "And who gets to make that determination?" he asked, tilting his head. "You?"

"And why would you want him to stay?" Monkey asked. "If you know who he is, you know what he's done. Why does it not bother you to have him here?" he continued, seeming confused.

Gidahn's expression flickered with a hint of anger, but it was gone swiftly. "I know the description he matches. But that is _all_ he matches," he stated.

Tigress took a step forward herself. "That does not answer the question," she said lowly.

"Face it," Po said, taking another step forward himself. "You've been harboring someone you have heard to be dangerous, someone who did a lot of bad things, and you've been doing it on purpose. Why?"

Gidahn's face hardened and he looked to the masters with a stony glare. "You go on about all that you know. Let me tell you what I know," he said in a low voice. "The bull does as he's told. He goes where he's directed. He keeps his head down. He does not raise his voice. And he always, _always_ , flinches at a raised paw."

Po felt his face mar as surprise melted into his expression. He looked to the others to see them with equally astonished expressions. He looked back as a loud thud caught his attention.

Gidahn had stomped his staff into the ground and lowered his head, his expression tight and unfriendly. "I do not care what you call him, who he was. I only know what I see, because every day I watch him. And every day, I see the same thing."

Po stared. He lowered his head too, looking at the yak with wide, curious eyes. "What do you see?" he asked, not sure if he was ready for the answer.

Gidahn's expression seemed to calm somewhat. He blinked slowly and huffed through his nose. "… a lost soul."

Po stopped breathing at the soft words. That raw, achy feeling he'd had when he'd spoken with the Five the night before returned. _Kai really doesn't remember_ , he thought. But before he could think or say anything else, the yak moved.

Gidahn stood to his full height and stomped his staff to the ground again. He leveled an imposing gaze to all of them. "I am not the village elder, nor am I the leader of these people. However, I am the one they look to to keep the peace. As such, it is my responsibility to inform you that you need to leave. Your meddling has already caused a great deal of concern and will cause even more the longer you stay." He narrowed his eyes. "Leave this place. You will only be told politely once." With that, he turned to go, the other two yaks watching like sentinels.

Po blinked rapidly, almost forgetting himself. "But, you don't understand-"

"Dealing with me is easy," Gidahn suddenly said without turning around. "Dealing with the villagers is impossible. Do not overstep your bounds. Leave as requested. You have until the morning to collect your fellows and depart."

Po shook his head as he looked between the three yaks and one bunny. He took a breath to speak, but Monkey beat him to it.

"Who are you _really?_ " the simian asked suspiciously.

Gidahn was still for a moment. The other two were still as well. They heard a huff of a breath before the yak started walking again. "That is none of your concern," he responded without looking back. The other two watched the masters for a moment before finally turning as well. The bunny however, turned on her cohort's shoulder, keeping her eyes on them the whole time.

When they finally disappeared into the trees, Po and the masters looked to one another. When the yaks were finally out of earshot, they relaxed.

There was a rustling in the branches above them before Crane suddenly fluttered to the ground. "Well, that was interesting," he said.

"You can say that again," Monkey commented, sitting himself back to the ground.

Po stood staring down at the grass as he chewed on his lip, still lost in thought over the whole thing.

"Po?"

He looked up to see Tigress looking at him with concern. "What are you thinking?"

Po held her gaze before looking back to the grass and clenching his fists. "I'm thinking we need a new plan."

 **XoXoX**

"I don't believe you!"

The large yak huffed lightly through his nose. "You've picked a wonderful time to lose faith, Ling," he said, the barest hint of sarcasm coloring his rich voice.

"And why should I believe you!" the elderly she-goose spouted. "He was attacked again and strange things have been happening around him all day!"

"That wasn't an attack. I was there, if Tok told you correctly," Gidahn said monotonously.

News of the event with the monkey had spread even out to the farmers and field workers. Any news of any happening spread faster in this village than any wildfire could ever travel. Gidahn only hated that the story changed with each telling. Now, in the dusk of the day, the rumors running rampant among the village-folk were taller than the mountains that stood watch in the distance. It was all he could do to keep the story straight with those who searched him out. Even harder when it came to the ones who added to the pandemonium with their own little embellishments of the telling. And the worst part was that everyone somehow had figured out it involved Bobo.

Gidahn knew Tok was the one to blame for that part. The pig never kept his muzzle shut. And he _never_ told the story straight.

Ling turned around and leveled a glare at him. "It was _going_ to be an attack, you just happened to be there at the right time."

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Gidahn asked with a slight shrug. "I was watching over him just as you asked."

He was normally very good at controlling his vocal inflections. But he could tell he'd let too much sarcasm slip into that statement.

Ling grumbled as she glared at him, gripping her wooden spoon tighter. "Don't use that superior tone with me! You are in _my_ house, I can throw you right out the front door if I want to!" she hollered, brandishing the spoon like a sword.

"You can't throw him out," Tok said as he entered the aforementioned front door. He shut it with his foot, holding the bundles in his arms tighter. "You probably couldn't even move one of his arms if you tried," the pig said nonchalantly, walking past the yak and into the kitchen. He barely reached the counter before letting out a loud yelp as the wooden spoon caught him in the head. "Hey! I'm just saying the truth!"

Ling shook her head and turned her glare to her soup, stirring the concoction once more. "Needs something," she muttered.

"Well, we were given some fresh stuffs from Ti-Ama in town," Tok said, unwrapping the bundles. "She even added in a whole bundle of leeks for Bobo."

"Oh, did she?" Ling looked to the goods as Tok unwrapped them.

Gidahn looked to his left at the bull still on his knees on the floor. He'd glanced up at mention of his name, but that was all.

"Bobo," Ling called.

The bull perked up, eyes darting to Gidahn before finally standing and walking closer to the kitchen. He knelt down as Ling went to the rice pot.

She grabbed a soup bowl and portioned rice out into it, stacking it high. She then sat it onto the counter and went to the bundle of leeks, walking back with them and eyeing Bobo as she held them. The bull looked to the floor at her gaze. She sniffed and put the vegetables on the counter and picked one out of the bundle. She stuffed it into the edge of the bowl and then grabbed a pair of chopsticks. "Dinner," she said curtly, picking the bowl up and holding it to him.

Bobo looked up and nodded, reaching out and taking the bowl and chopsticks.

"Go on," Ling said with a wave, turning back to the kitchen.

He nodded again, even though she wasn't looking, and stood. His eyes darted to Gidahn. He bowed his head lightly as he headed to the side door, exiting quietly.

"The rest we'll put in the soup," Ling said from the kitchen, placing the leeks on the cutting board. "Start chopping," she ordered Tok.

Gidahn said nothing, though his grip on his staff became noticeably tighter.

"So!" Ling said without looking at the yak. "You say these strangers will be leaving?" she asked, grabbing one of the tiny glass bottles from her spice rack.

"As they were told," Gidahn answered simply.

"Mmhmmm. And you say you don't know what they want?" she asked, eyeing her work closely as she sprinkled in the spice.

"They are simple trouble-makers," Gidahn said, his tone flat.

"And you wonder why I don't believe you," Ling ground out with a grimace, looking to the yak with a steamy glare. "If they were _simple trouble-makers_ , then why aren't they tromping around the whole village causing ruckus, eh? Why are they only going after _my_ bull? And what of that name, hmm? Did you think I forgot?"

Gidahn clenched his teeth to prevent himself letting out a very un-yak-like growl. The female really did have a sharp memory, he had to give her that. "I do not recognize it," he lied.

"Is that so?" Ling asked, narrowing her eyes. "Never at all, not once, heard the name Kai?"

Gidahn gave a slight shrug and tilt of his head. "I could not recite all the names I've heard over my lifetime, even if I wanted to. But even if I _have_ heard it, that does not mean I recognize it."

Ling glared at him without reserve. She looked back to the pot and tended to the soup, stirring and adding more spices.

Several quiet moments passed and Gidahn raised a brow. "I'll take that as my dismissal," he said lowly. He turned and started for the door.

"You've always had a soft spot for this bull. Almost like you knew him from a past life."

He stopped short, his hoof scraping the wood of the floor. He kept his gaze steady as he looked to the door. He remained still as he listened behind him. He heard the she-goose tap the spoon loudly on the pot.

"If you don't want to tell me the truth, so be it, Gidahn."

The room was taken by the sounds of crackling fire and bubbling soup. Even Tok's chopping had gone quiet at her words.

Gidahn tilted his head minutely.

"But he is _my_ charge. Just like that bunny is _yours_ ," Ling continued stiffly. "Keep that in mind while you keep your secrets."

Gidahn stared at the age lines of the wood in the door. He felt an ache in his hoof and realized his grip on his staff was too tight. He allowed his eyes to close as he took a deep breath in through his nose. He let it out silently through his lips. "Of course, Miss Ling," he said smoothly. With that, he reached for the door and made his exit.

Once he made it from the porch to the path his steps became heavy. He listened calmly to the sounds of his hooves in the freshly scraped dirt. He looked up, his eyes spotting his son Tai up ahead, waiting on the main way. He saw Mika peek her head around his shoulder, her ears perking up happily.

He huffed as Ling's words replayed in his mind. _"Keep that in mind while you keep your secrets"…_ He shook his head as he looked to the ground. _If only you knew, Ling. But then again… everyone here has a secret_ , he thought sullenly. _Even you._

 **XoXoX**

"Po, this is a horrible plan," Tigress said in a flat tone, arms crossed.

"Well, do you have any other ideas?" Po asked, putting his paws on his hips.

Mantis fluttered his outer wings as he rubbed his face with his foreclaws. "I have an idea, how about we don't go sneaking up on this guy when he could do something stupid without thinking!"

Po rolled his eyes. "Not _we_ sneak up there, _me_ , just me, by myself."

"Brother," Viper slithered closer. "It's obvious that Kai doesn't know how to do anything other than what he's been doing here for the last five years, but that might be what makes it even more of a problem."

"How?" Po asked incredulously.

"He's too scared," Mantis chimed. "He's turned into some kind of giant, scared baby."

"He's right," Viper said with a nod. "After he saw Monkey he spent the rest of his time in the village fumbling over everything he did. When he finally managed to finish his tasks and get back to the farmhouse, he didn't even want to go to the fields."

"That goose is mean," Mantis said absently, shaking his head. "She tried everything to make him go, even hit him with a wooden spoon." He looked up and shrugged at the curious gazes now directed at him. "I mean, really, Viper saw it too." He pointed at her.

She nodded, looking to Po solemnly. "He was petrified. She only stopped trying to force him when he started shaking."

"I think it was when he collapsed to his knees actually," Mantis said nonchalantly.

Crane scoffed and shook his head, lowering it as he used his blunt talons to pinch the bridge of his beak. "I seriously can't believe this is really happening," he muttered.

"Well it is," Po said resolutely. "This is real. Kai is a big baby who doesn't remember who he is, and we need to get him out of this village because we need him, because… "he glanced away, "…Oogway said so…" He scratched the back of his neck as his ardor faded. He knew it was all the truth, it just sounded strange to hear it out loud.

"What exactly are you gonna say though?" Mantis asked with an exaggerated shrug. "I mean, he already doesn't trust us after we tried to _attack_ him."

"I don't think he would have trusted us anyway," Monkey interjected from his spot above them. He crossed his arms as he looked up, or down, from his upside-down position on a tree branch. "We already established he's a big scaredy-baby. He probably would have run anyway."

Po huffed and gave a shrug. "Okay, I don't know exactly what I'm gonna say yet, but I know I need to talk to him."

Tigress raised a brow and regarded him with disbelief. "You _know_ you need to talk to him?" she repeated in question.

Po looked at her with wide eyes and bit the inside of his lip. "Yeah… you know… I know."

" _That_ sounded intelligent," Mantis scoffed, flicking an antenna.

"Guys!" Po looked to the lot of them, frustration boiling to the surface. "We have to do what we came here to do, otherwise what was the point?"

Though many differing opinions were displayed on the others' faces, no one provided a rebuttal.

"We could try to kidnap him and carry him away," Mantis suggested.

"Don't be stupid, he's too heavy," Crane retorted. "Besides, if the goal is to have him trust us in his state of amnesia, then kidnapping him is hardly going to do the trick."

"Exactly," Po said with a nod. "That's why someone has to talk to him. And being the last person who saw him when he was… well," he shrugged, "when he was alive? I guess? Or, yeah, just- being the last person who saw him…" Po looked to the ground as he tried to find words, "… I dunno, I just… I feel like it needs to happen. And I feel like it's best if it's me." He looked back up, though he wasn't sure if he looked determined or confused.

Tigress looked to him with her characteristic stoicism. She then sighed as she crossed her arms and ran a paw over her face, running her fingers into her eyes. "Alright, Po… We've trusted your instincts so far." She looked up, letting her paw fall to her other arm as she regarded him. "But we can't let you get into a sticky situation."

Po felt his lips threaten a smile, but he forced it away as he nodded. "Right. I don't think it'll be hard to get away if things get rough, though. The farmhouse is surrounded by nothing but empty crop fields." He shrugged. "That might even make it easier," he commented. "Better to lose someone in."

"Or get trapped in," Tigress rebutted.

Po looked away and wiggled his nose as he thought. "Yeah… I guess that's a good point."

"How about I circle in the air while he's out there?" Crane asked. "Then, if things go awry, I can dive down and assist."

Po nodded as he smiled to Crane. "That sounds like a good idea! Just be careful not to get too low while you're watching." He tapped his fingers to his chin, crossing his arms in thought. "I don't want Kai to see you and get scared."

"Bobo," Mantis chimed suddenly.

"What?" Po looked to Mantis in surprise.

"Remember," Mantis said, "it's Bobo now. I wouldn't walk up there calling him that name. That's part of the whole reason he's scared I think."

Po looked to the ground as he considered those words. "You think?" he asked.

"Well, yeah," Monkey said, swinging slightly from his still upside-down position. "Think what it would be like if someone you never met came up to you and called you a name you never heard, talking about things you don't remember, and accusing you of things you never did." He shrugged. "I'd be scared."

Po looked to Monkey and then averted his gaze, staring blankly as he let those words bounce back and forth in his head. He nodded slowly. "I guess that would be kind of terrifying, wouldn't it…" he mused quietly.

"Terrifying or not," all eyes looked to see Tigress looking up to the sky through the tree branches, "we'd better get this plan of yours moving." She looked down, gaze leveling to Po. "We're running out of time."

The sun was holding its course and the night was fast approaching, several stars already visible to the east through the silhouetted trees.

Po nodded and looked to the team. "Alright. Let's do this."

 **XoXoX**

It was quiet. Strangely quiet. It made him uneasy.

Deeply colored eyes, the left a rich brown and the right a supremely dark indigo, narrowed as they watched the faraway tree line. Breaths came slowly and steadily and with such care that not a single leaf or blade of grass was disturbed. The wait wasn't long.

A mass could be seen departing the foliage, a shadow that was both dark and light. The breaths halted as watchful eyes traced every movement as it happened. The shadow hung low to the ground before fluttering into the tall crops of the field. A glimpse of it shown every now and again, popping up above the line of the plant life.

Its path was clear.

Tai rose up slightly and crept backwards, keeping his eyes on the blurred visage in the dark; the visage he knew had to be the panda. He had only managed a few feet when the barest sound of fabric moving against fabric made him freeze.

"Sshh."

He took a quiet deep breath and relaxed. He moved back a bit more and sat back onto his feet, his eyes still glued to their target even peering through the twigs and leaves of the bushes he hid behind. He flicked an ear as he felt his father's hoof at his left shoulder.

"Is it as I thought?" Gidahn whispered quietly.

"Yes," Tai answered in the same hushed tone. "He is making his way to Ling's house." He heard his father nod, as if to himself. His gaze never faltered as he waited. However, no other words came. He squinted, watching still as the dark and light shadow of the panda crept ever-closer to the farmhouse. "Father? Are we sending Mika to Mel?" he asked.

He hadn't actually expected his father to be so near. He and Mika were watching for activity, with instruction to send for Mel and his father should he notice anything. Why his father was actually at their side at this moment was curious to him.

"No. We will wait," Gidahn answered.

"Are you sure?" Mika suddenly chirped from Tai's side, her small voice barely enough to stir a mouse from slumber.

Gidahn glanced to her and nodded. "I am sure."

Tai waited for a moment before tilting his head. "Father?"

Gidahn was quiet, his eyes looking out at the same view as his son. "I expected this. But it may not be ill-intentioned."

Tai's brow scrunched down in further confusion. "… You told them to leave. Not only are they still here, but he is now going after Bobo again…" he whispered.

Gidahn shook his head. "We shall see," he muttered. "Keep your keen eyes aimed, Son. Tell me what you see," he said, squeezing Tai's shoulder before letting go.

Tai took the hint and lowered himself back to the ground, creeping through the soft grass and blanket of leaves to restore his unobstructed view.

"Mika," Gidahn said, looking to the bunny. Her ears perked up and she looked at him with full attention. "Get up there with Tai. Focus your ears for me. I want you to tell me what you hear, if anything at all."

Mika nodded sharply and crawled through the brush, getting herself to the same vantage point as Tai.

"What do you think will come of this?" Tai questioned softly.

Gidahn took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Several moments of silence passed.

"I do not know."

 **XoXoX**

The stars were extra bright tonight. They always seemed to be when the moon was dying. He used to think the moon gave its light to the stars. But after having watched them for so long he realized they never really changed much. It was just that the rest of the sky got darker without the moon.

 _Then why are they brighter this time?_ he thought. He looked to his left and saw that the lights of the village seemed dimmer. _Maybe that's why. I wonder why? It's quieter too…_ He looked back to the sky. _I wonder why everyone went to sleep early..._

There were always people in the village that remained awake during the night. He was never sure why. Maybe for the same reason he stayed awake sometimes. But, he never really knew why that was either.

Brilliant green eyes darted from one constellation to the other, tracing over the well-watched lines as if they were new again. They always seemed new, every time. Like fresh morning dew on the grass. He blinked and tilted his head back, letting the tips of his horns thump against the wood of his hut. He wanted to lay on the ground and look at as many of them as his eyes could find. But Miss Ling would probably be unhappy if he did that.

Bobo took a deep breath and sighed. The motion of it reminded him of the bowl in his hooves. He regretfully tore his eyes from the pinpricks of light above to look at the half-eaten rice. He'd forgotten to finish again. He looked from the rice to the untouched leek. He wasn't sure why Miss Ling had given him so much. She was always so angry when he forgot to finish, and he almost always did. He looked away from the bowl to the door of the hut next to him. He looked back up to the stars and stared for a few moments longer. He finally lowered his head and stood.

He pushed the reed flap of the doorway to the side, entering the space that was only really big enough for his cot. He placed the bowl on the tiny shelf that had been made for him, not that he had anything to put there. He then leaned down and sat heavily on the cot. No frame or spokes, just the cot laid on the floor made up of dozens of reed matts. He looked around in the dark, eyes darting to the ceiling of the hut as they usually did. He wished, as he had many times, that he could open the roof. But he was sure Miss Ling would get upset about that too. He huffed lightly and finally laid down, folding his arm under him as he rolled halfway on to his stomach. It was more comfortable that way. His horns never fit into the hut, so it was always easier to sleep so they'd point up.

Bobo stared at the wall, wondering if this was another night that he'd stay awake through. Again, the thought of laying on the ground outside occurred to him. _Maybe if only for a few minutes?_ he thought. _It might not be so noticeable…_ He felt hopeful for a moment before taking a deep breath and huffing dejectedly.

She'd find out. She always did.

He blinked. He looked to the doorway of the hut. He felt his brows scrunch down as he flicked an ear. _Is that… rustling grass?_ He lifted his head slowly, listening. He could hear more rustling. It was feint, like the sound of the summer breeze. Only, there hadn't been one today. And the air tonight was still.

He swallowed sudden nerves as anxiety pooled in his chest. He started to rise, moving as slowly as he could to keep from making too much noise. It was dark enough anyway, but he closed his eyes, paying attention to the sounds from outside.

It was definitely rustling, and it was coming from the distant right. _The fields_ , he thought anxiously. He remembered Mister Gidahn's words earlier, that the strangers were going to leave. He opened his eyes, hearing the rustling coming in waves, matching up with the rhythm of strides. _He didn't say when,_ Bobo realized. He felt as much as heard his own heart starting to race. He clenched his eyes shut and hunched over, balling his hooves into his eyes. _What do I do?_ he asked himself desperately. He staid frozen that way for a moment, still hearing the rustling noise. He flicked his ear as he heard the loud rustling stop, only for soft rustling to take its place. _From the field to the yard,_ he thought almost automatically.

He opened his eyes and took a deep breath. _Maybe… maybe it's Tok?_ he thought. _Maybe he's sneaking around for some reason, or maybe he lost something in the field today and went to find it?_ he continued hopefully. He nodded to himself and angled his eyes to the reed flap of his hut.

While that thought provided a little hope, his anxiety didn't go away.

The soft rustling seemed to have gotten slower, as if someone was taking slow steps. But even slowed down… it was getting ever closer.

Bobo swallowed hard. _It's not Tok…_ He shook his head, looking to the matts of his floor. Again, he wondered what to do. Should he say something? Call out? Should he exit quickly and run as fast as he could to the front of the house? _Why is this so hard?_ he thought, closing his eyes tight again. He held his breath for a moment, though, he wasn't sure why he'd gotten the urge to do that. Then he opened his eyes wide. He flicked his ears, straining to hear.

The rustling had stopped.

 _Was I just hearing things?_ he asked himself, glancing around the hut in the dark.

"Knock, knock," came a hushed whisper.

Bobo remained frozen. He was sure if he hadn't been holding his breath he would have jumped through the roof of his hut. As it was, the fur along his spine and arms simply bristled as if he'd been subject to a cold wind. He let the breath out slowly, quietly as he continued to listen. Nothing else happened. He swallowed nervously, realizing he was expected to say something. He bit his lip, eyes darting here and there before finally looking to the doorway. He opened his mouth to speak, wondering what would happen if he simply remained quiet. He supposed that wouldn't do any good.

"Who… who's there?" he whispered. There was silence for a moment. Then he heard what could only be someone taking a deep breath.

"My, um… my name is Po," came the voice, still a breathy whisper. "I just want to talk to you. If that's okay?"

Bobo blinked in the dark, clasping his hooves together as he took in those words. "And… if I don't want to talk?" he whispered back.

Silence.

"… then I'll do all the talking, and you can just listen."

Bobo's eyebrows knit together as he lowered his head. _I don't want to listen either,_ he thought dejectedly. He didn't want any of this. He just wanted it to be over with so things could be normal again. He hung his head as he looked to the matts, hoping maybe this was just a dream. More words from the stranger made it clear it wasn't.

"What do you say?" he whispered.

Bobo perked up slightly. There was something in that voice when it had spoken that question. Did it sound hopeful? Friendly? Was it real? Even if it was, what did it mean? What did it mean if it wasn't?

Bobo swallowed his nerves and finally moved, getting to his feet, crouching lightly as usual due to his horns. He reached for the reed flap hesitantly. He wasn't sure what he should really do, but he supposed nothing would get done if he simply remained still. Finally, he gripped it and pulled it back, slowly moving his head to peek out.

Nothing.

His eyebrows knitted down in confusion before he stuck his head out a little and looked to the right. He froze.

Leaning against his hut was the black and white stranger. He seemed to have frozen too, as if he hadn't expected Bobo to peer out. Finally, the stranger moved, pushing away from the hut and taking a couple steps back. He toyed with his paws and angled his head down, his eyes on Bobo the whole time as if waiting.

Bobo kept his own eyes glued to the stranger. He wasn't sure what to do. Or what to say. Though, a question couldn't hurt. The question burning in his chest ever since this whole mess started. "What do you want?" Bobo asked slowly.

The stranger looked surprised by that question. He lowered his paws, though he still kept ahold of his own fingers. "I, uh… want to talk to you," he said, looking confused and hopeful at the same time.

Bobo felt a tinge of disbelief. "That's not what you wanted yesterday," he said.

The stranger dropped his eyes, as if ashamed. "Yeah… yesterday could have gone better…" he muttered.

Bobo shook his head. He was confused by that. He was confused by all of it actually. Nothing seemed normal about this whole thing. "What do you want from me? I don't even know you," he said desperately.

The stranger looked up pointedly at that. There was a knowing look in his eyes that was unnerving. The stranger nodded slowly. "You used to," he said simply.

Bobo blinked rapidly as an odd feeling welled in his chest. He wasn't sure what it was, and he was as surprised by it as he was suddenly terrified. He'd never felt it before, and he didn't like it. "I… no I didn't," he argued, though he noticed how weak his voice sounded. That confused him even more.

The stranger nodded that slow nod again. "Yes. Yes you did. You knew all of us that you saw yesterday. That's how _we_ knew _you_ ," he explained.

Bobo shook his head. "How could I know you then not know you?" he asked. "That doesn't make sense."

The stranger smiled sadly. "You… you've lost your memory, Bobo."

Bobo felt his breath catch. Something sounded off about the stranger saying his name. _Why? That is my name… isn't it?_ He blinked as he remembered that they had called him something else. "You don't call me that name," he said. "You call me the other one…" Bobo felt something seem to physically clench in his chest. His grip on the reed flap he held, and the wall inside the hut, tightened. Something about that other name… hurt. He'd been too scared to think about it when the strangers had first attached him. But after, when he'd told Miss Ling and then had been alone thinking about everything… whenever he thought about that name, it caused him pain. And the more he thought about it, the worse it got. It almost felt physical.

He finally took his eyes from the stranger and looked down. "You said I lost my memory… how?" he asked, glancing back up.

The stranger's expression changed. He became nervous and averted his eyes. "Well… It's more of a guess really… You… may have lost it after… because of a… battle?" He looked up, seemingly confused by his own words.

Bobo felt anxiety tug at his chest again, mingling with that strange pain in a very uncomfortable way. "Battle…" he said in a small voice. "I've never been in one." He looked to the grass, thinking about all he knew about battles. It wasn't much. He'd only ever heard some of the older village-folk talk about them. They were great things, had when two peoples differed in how they wanted things done, or didn't like each other, or when one people wanted to take over another. He'd never been in anything like that.

"Well… like I said. You've lost your memory. You wouldn't remember it," the stranger said gently.

Bobo looked up. The black and white stranger seemed sincere. He seemed honest. And he had a soft expression on his face, kind of how a parent looked when talking to a child about something difficult.

It did nothing but create even more confusion.

Bobo shook his head, his eyebrows knitting together as he took a deep breath, trying to breathe through the mixture of sensations in his chest. "I don't… I don't understand. Why are you here?" he asked. "What do you want from me?"

The stranger took on a sad expression then, averting his gaze once more to the grass as he toyed with his fingers. "We… we're here for you. We came to find you… and we… we want to help you remember."

Bobo's eyes went wide and something else sliced through the myriad of feelings chaotically bouncing through is ribcage: Fear.

"No," he said suddenly. "No, no, no," he shook his head, pulling the reed flap over as if trying to cover himself with it. "I don't want your help, I don't want you to be here, and I don't want to remember whatever it is you think I forgot," he said in a flurry.

The stranger looked startled at that and raised his paws in a placating gesture. "Bobo-"

"Stop!" Bobo suddenly called. "Just- just stop, okay!" he said, gesturing his hoof to the stranger. "I don't… I don't want…" He closed his eyes, shaking his head as he brought his hoof back to him only to grip at his chest. The sensations and feelings and pain had amassed to create a sickening throb that he had never felt before. It was draining the strength from his legs and making him feel dizzy. "… just leave me alone…" he ground out.

It was quiet for a moment. The silence felt heavy, thick. Then-

"What's wrong?"

Bobo clenched his eyes tight. That question had such a sincere concern in it. And for some reason… it made him hurt even more. That throb pulsed as if it was a heartbeat; as if another living thing had taken hold of his body. He shook his head, leaning against the doorway of his hut. "It hurts…" he whispered. "This pain… it hurts so much…" The side of his face came to rest against the doorframe and he felt the tips of his horns catch along the top. He gripped the spot on his chest tighter, his claws digging into his own hide, a sharp, clean pain contrasting with the dull, pulsing pain that wouldn't stop. "It hurts… because of you…"

That heavy silence descended again. It was unbearable.

"I'm sorry," the stranger spoke quietly. "I… I can help you-"

"Go," Bobo said. He opened his eyes, and even that action radiated pain through his face. He looked at the stranger one more time. "Leave me alone," he said, though with far less force than he would have liked. It almost sounded as if he were begging.

The stranger looked at him sadly, desperately, as if he genuinely wanted to help. But he took a step back. He nodded, dropping his eyes to the ground. "Okay." He was still for only a moment. He turned and headed back to the fields.

Bobo didn't even bother watching him leave, though he wished he could shout at him, throw something at him maybe. He as walking so slow, as if waiting to be called back. Why would he want to call out to someone he doesn't know? Someone who causes him actual pain?

Bobo retreated back into the hut, letting the flap fall back into place. He finally felt his knees give out and he fell backwards onto his cot, landing in a seated position almost perfectly. His chest still throbbed so painfully. The ache was still intense, the sensations still sickening to his stomach. He gripped his chest with both hooves and curled into a ball. He sat there, tightly folded against the pain, his breaths coming in a shaky rhythm as even his face and eyes ached. He barely took note as noise started back up outside.

"Bobo!" The reed flap was pushed to the side harshly and Miss Ling stood there, glaring. "What's with… all the…"

He didn't even look up. He couldn't. He folded himself tighter. He couldn't even think anymore. He just wanted to wake up from whatever this nightmare was. He felt himself jolt, and he sniffled. Through the haze in his mind he suddenly realized why his eyes hurt so much too: he was crying.

He heard the flap fall closed. He heard the loud footsteps of webbed goose feet. He felt the weight of the other on the cot next to him. He couldn't even bring himself to look up.

"Stupid brute," he heard her say quietly. "I told you to stop thinking about it."

He didn't move as he felt her weight, what little there was comparted to his own, against his arm. Her wings wrapped around it, her tiny head rested against his shoulder. She moved one wing soothingly and hummed so lightly that the sound could have been mistaken for wind.

He scrunched his face up and curled into himself even further.

He never knew why it was only when he completely broke down that Miss Ling would be soft on him. But he was grateful none-the-less. With his mind, feelings, and body all thrown into this strange chaotic maelstrom, her simple gesture was the only thing keeping him grounded.

 **XoXoX**

"We have to get him out of there," Po said, pacing a line in the grass just beyond the dim light of their single paper lantern. Even the night before it had been deemed unwise to light a full fire. Tonight, it had been debated if they should even use the lantern.

Mantis looked at Po from his perch on a stray rock, eyes wide, before shaking his head and crossing his foreclaws. "Po, you just got finished telling us that he told you to leave him alone. What makes you think he's gonna let us take him away?"

Po continued his pacing, staring intently at the darkened grass as he did so, arms crossed behind his back. "I know what he said, and I want to respect his wishes, but he doesn't know who he is, he doesn't know _anything_ , and he said he was in pain because of _me_ , but I think what he doesn't realize is that pain will never go away. It may have even been there before we showed up and he didn't realize it."

Tigress watched Po's nervous pacing from her spot leaned against a tree. "Maybe so, but there is nothing we can do short of actual abduction if he want's nothing to do with us."

"And don't forget that Gidahn fellow," Crane interjected. "He did tell us we had 'til morning to leave. That doesn't give us much time to formulate a plan."

"And even if we abduct him," Monkey started-

"Which we definitely _shouldn't_ do," Viper cut in.

"What's to keep the villagers from stopping us?" Monkey asked. "They may not like us taking away their burdener."

"You mean slave," Mantis said, rolling his eyes.

Monkey shrugged in response.

Po shook his head. "I don't know, but we can't just leave him here. He can't stay like this."

"This kind of rolls over to the question of why not," Crane said. He raised his wings in a placating gesture at the various looks thrown his way. "Hold up, what I mean is, he's not hurting anything by being here. And despite the fact that they're using him, the villagers aren't really hurting him either. This doesn't seem to be a bad arrangement, amnesia aside."

Po stopped his pacing and heaved a sigh. "That might be true, but even with that, we still need him for our," he looked around, "you know, issue."

Mantis flicked his outer wings together and scratched the back of his head with a foreclaw. "I guess that begs the question if we're really right about what Oogway said. If he is really what we came here to find- if he's really our part one?" He looked to Po questioningly.

Po met his gaze and nodded sharply. "He is. I know it. You guys do too." He looked around at them. "I know this is a tuff situation, but it doesn't change the facts. He's still what we came here for, and we can't leave without him. For our sake," his eyes drifted to the ground, "and his…"

It was quiet for a few moments while everyone seemed to get lost in thought.

Viper tilted her head and looked up to the others. "Maybe we should try talking to this Gidahn again? Maybe we can reason with him? He seems intelligent, patient. Maybe he will be open to our explanation. Maybe if he is, he can help?"

Tigress shook her head. "He was very adamant. He wants us to leave Kai alone and he wants us gone."

"But you still didn't get to tell him everything, right?" Mantis asked.

"Correct," Tigress said as she glanced to Mantis. "The conversation didn't allow for us to tell him the real reason behind this."

Po huffed loudly. "But I don't think he wanted to hear it anyway," he added.

"Maybe not then," Viper said, "but after a good night's sleep? Maybe he'll be more willing?"

Po, Tigress, Monkey and Crane shared looks with one another.

Crane shook his head. "I don't know… he didn't seem the listening type. He seemed to have already come up with his opinion of us."

"And it didn't sound like much of kind one," Monkey added, scratching his chin.

Viper sighed.

Tigress regarded her then looked to Po. "Maybe if we try extending an invitation."

Po looked up and to her with a raised brow. "Hmm?"

Tigress crossed her arms. "We didn't think to simply ask for audience with any authority around here, being we didn't know Kai was actually here and alive. Maybe if we go about this in a more official way, he will be more inclined to listen to what we have to say?"

Po tilted his head and glanced to the side as he thought about her words. "Huh… well. I guess it couldn't hurt."

"But how would we go about it?" Mantis asked. "We don't know where the guy lives. And we can't just go ask around," he said with a shrug.

Tigress raised her eyebrow. She tilted her head and a small smirk made its way to her lips. "Hmm…" She glanced to Po before standing from the tree. "I know you're here," she called loudly, garnering confused looks from the others. "That means you've heard everything we've just said. I'd like it if you came into our circle so we can discuss this properly." She perked her ears up and looked to the others.

Po, Monkey and Crane suddenly brightened as realization bloomed across their faces. Mantis and Viper looked between the lot of them in confusion.

Only a few more moments passed before slight rustling could be heard not far from the group. Mantis and Viper turned to look behind them and the others watched the wall of trees and foliage expectantly. Some bush branches near the ground rustled before finally a small, grey and white mottled bunny peeked out from the leaves. She looked around at all of them with wide eyes before exiting completely, though she only came a few feet closer to the group.

Tigress smiled kindly. "I was worried you wouldn't actually show yourself," she said lightly.

The bunny looked to her, sniffing the air instinctively. "Well… I shouldn't have," she said in a small voice.

Monkey sat himself on the ground and lowered his body, crossing his forearms in front of him in the grass. "Well, why did you?" he asked brightly.

She looked to him and visibly fought a smile. "I… I think you can be trusted. Master Gidahn always tells me to trust my instincts. My instincts tell me to trust you."

Po and the Five displayed various expressions of surprise.

Po himself stepped forward before doing as Monkey had, sitting down on the ground and facing her. "I think we all appreciate that," he said with a small smile.

Tigress followed suit and sat down herself, crossing her legs and slipping her paws into her sleeves. "I'm guessing you are here on your Master Gidahn's orders, yes?" she asked.

The bunny tilted her head as she looked to Tigress and then to the others as if confused by their shows of trust. "That is right," she finally answered. She took a moment to look at the ground around her and, eyes darting to all of them in turn, did the same, sitting on her knees and crossing her lithe feet under her bottom. "He ordered me to keep an eye on you after you snuck to Bobo's hut."

Po raised his eyebrows and sat up straighter. "You were watching?" he asked.

The bunny smirked and nodded. "Mhm. Master Gidahn suspected you'd try something."

Po glanced to his left, catching Tigress's eyes. They both raised an eyebrow even further before looking back.

"He's got good instincts," Tigress commented.

The bunny smiled fully at that. "Yes, he does."

"So," Po clasped his paws in his lap as he looked to the grass they all sat on. "Is he… still awake then?" he asked, glancing up.

The bunny nodded. "Mhm."

Po bit his lip and looked to the ground again.

"Do you all really want to talk to him?" the bunny suddenly asked.

They all looked up at her. They then shared glances between each other. Po and Tigress shared a gaze for longer than the others, as if communicating mentally. They then broke it and Po looked to the bunny earnestly. "Do you think he'll be willing to talk to us?" he asked quietly.

The bunny tilted her head and held her eyes on him, as if looking for something in his expression or posture that would tell her more about him. She blinked and clasped her own tiny paws in her lap, appearing to chew on the inside of her lip. She remained that way for several moments, her eyes unblinkingly locked on Po.

Finally, she smiled. "Maybe."

 **XoXoX**

It was very warm. Almost stifling. It wasn't very comfortable either.

He opened his eyes slowly. The first thing to make it through the haze of tiredness was a dark corner and the barest sliver of light cutting through the semi-darkness. He watched as dust motes floated lazily through the beam, rushing about only when his exhales disturbed them.

He twitched his head and winced, the dull ache at the nape of his neck morphing into a sharp slice of pain. He groaned at the pressure along his temples. _Oh yeah_ , he thought dejectedly. _I fell asleep like this_. He huffed as he remembered the tip of his right horn was wedged up against the wall, forcing his head into an awkward position. In his distress last night, he'd hardly cared. Now, he wished he'd been more thoughtful.

Bobo finally moved to sit up, groaning again as he let his head hang, bringing a hoof up to rub the nape of his neck through his mane. It was probably going to hurt all day. He supposed that was the least of his worries. He rubbed his eyes next, before resting his elbows on his knees and looking around the inside of his hut.

Miss Ling had left after he'd lain down the night before. She'd apparently taken his unfinished bowl with her. She also must have made a trip into the village, because usually she would have woken him up by now.

Bobo blinked and narrowed his eyes, flicking his ears. While his usual wake-up call, the thumping of Miss Ling's spoon against his hut, wasn't present, he realized other noises were. A lot of noises.

 _Why didn't I notice that before?_ he thought groggily. The noises weren't exceptionally loud, but he had trouble telling exactly what they were. He lowered his head, rubbed his claws over his ears, trying to wake up his senses as well as his mind, and raised his head back up, tilting it as he listened. They were voices. And other things. Sharp sounds, ragged sounds, scraping sounds. All sorts of sounds started registering.

Bobo blinked rapidly and felt his face mar in confusion. "What's going on?" he asked himself, leaning into a stand. He flinched at the sudden sharp pain that flared into the nape of his neck again, but shook his head lightly as he stepped to the doorway, pulling the reed flap back as he peeked his head outside. As his eyes adjusted to the morning light, they promptly widened in shock.

Villagers. Dozens of them. Every one of them he recognized; the old pig he hefted water for, the various pigs and geese that vended the market, the antelope-folk that went to the village outskirts to dig for roots, and even random citizens that usually didn't leave the village proper. They stood in a half-hazard crowd in the yard and among the crops, all holding various items, from pitchforks, hoes, shovels and rakes to ropes, netting and leather leads. A few even held rocks and wicker bundles.

All heads whipped around to him as he gawked at them.

Bobo felt his eyebrows scrunch together as he looked at each of them in confusion. He pointed randomly to the crowd of them as he finally found his voice. "What are you-"

"The omen!" the elderly pig called. "He's awake!"

"The omen!"

"The omen, the omen-"

"The omen, ah!"

Bobo stared. "The what?!" he said loudly in surprise. His surprise started to give way to dread, however, as the village folk all started to creep towards him. A few seemed scared and ran around behind others, while many had angry, devious and even hateful looks in their eyes.

"Omen," the elderly pig ground out in a venomous whisper. The others started chanting the word like a mantra.

Bobo looked to each one of them, all of them intensely serious as they got ever closer, already the mass of them surrounding his immediate area. He swallowed hard as anxiety sprung up in his chest.

"Omen?" he whispered.

 **XxXxX**

* * *

 **Author's note: Illustrations of Mel, Tai and Mika are available on my Tumblr (same name - SheyConYamo), under the normal KFP tags.**

 **Thank you for the read! Have a good day or night and a wonderful time~**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Kung Fu Panda, nor am I in any way affiliated with it's creators. All belongs to DreamWorks.**

 **I only claim the storyline and OC's.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5~***

 ***the night before***

"You are taking a great deal of risk, Master Panda," he said in a quiet voice, turning to regard the black and white warrior in the dark of the forest.

The panda in question looked surprised at the statement and glanced side to side, tapping his paws together. "Well, I mean… you seem like you're a reasonable guy-"

"That… wasn't what I meant," Gidahn said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "I meant agreeing to meet me without any of your fellow masters."

"Oooh, that," Po said, nodding. "Well, if I want you to trust me, I should show some trust in you, right?" he asked with a hopeful smile and a friendly shrug.

Gidahn raised a brow. "It isn't about trust," he stated flatly.

Po blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I trust you will act with honor. I expect no less from someone like you," Gidahn said.

Po narrowed his eyes and tilted his head curiously. "Okaaay… then… what is this about?"

Gidahn lowered his head, though his eyes remained poised. He finally closed them, angling his head away as he gripped his staff harder. "… honesty," he answered softly. He could practically feel the surprise from the other, even with the considerable gap of brush and foliage between them.

"Well… don't honor and honesty go together?" he asked.

Gidahn opened his eyes to stare at the ground. "Not necessarily." He directed his gaze back to the panda. "You may be… who you are," he said, "but that does not mean you act on your own authority. And even if you do, your sense of honor may differ from mine. As such, your motives may allow for a lapse in honesty, despite my desire to hear it."

Po stared at the yak, as if digesting the words. He then took a deep breath and tilted his head forward, letting his arms rest at his sides as he fisted his paws. "I don't know what you've been through in life. And I'm not gonna ask or pretend to understand. But I will tell you that I learned everything I know from some of the greatest masters of all time. I will not disgrace their names by betraying the principles they stood for, not now, not ever." His voice was calm yet stern. His posture resolute.

And his words were an absolute shock to hear.

Gidahn stared at the panda unabashedly, his eyes wide. Years of practiced stoicism prevented his mouth from hanging open, but his shock was visible all the same.

This wasn't supposed to be a heart-to-heart about his past, and despite his telling words, there wasn't anything that should have suggested he needed such personal reassurance from the master in front of him. But somehow, after merely a few sentences of conversation, this young panda had deduced more about his past than the majority of the folk he'd come to know in the last few decades.

Gidahn felt his eyelids flutter as he broke his own stare, looking away quickly. He let out a shivery breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He moved his staff to his left hoof and gripped it with both tightly as his gaze bore into the ground.

"Hey," came the panda's suddenly concerned voice, "are you okay?"

Gidahn swallowed hard. "What are your intentions?" he asked too quickly. He took a breath to steady himself, his heart beating strangely deep within his chest. "What do you really want with this bull? What are you going to do to him?"

He heard the panda shift from foot to foot. "We- we don't want to do anything to him. We want to… well… we need to help him remember."

Gidahn looked up sharply at those words. "You need to help him remember?" he repeated in question.

Po nodded. "It's hard to explain." He glanced away nervously. "It's… it's a pretty unbelievable story, it sounds like a made up hoax or a dream even. But, when I say I won't betray the principle of honesty, I mean it. It's just-"

"Try me." Gidahn looked pointedly into the eyes that shot up to his in the darkness. "You said you would be honest. Then be honest." He paused, part of him apprehensive and another part… hopeful. "Make a good second impression," he narrowed his eyes, "Dragon Warrior."

The panda's eyes widened and he visibly had to fight biting his bottom lip. He then nodded, bringing his paws up and fiddling with his fingers. He took a deep breath and nodded once more to himself. "Okay. So, you know us, _obviously_ ," he shrugged as he glanced to the yak, "so that means you know who Master Oogway was, right? I mean, I think even those closed off villagers would know who he was."

Gidahn merely nodded.

"Okay, so… Oogway _moved on_ the same year he named me the Dragon Warrior. A year after that was the conflict with Lord Shen from Gongmen. You know all that, right?" Po asked, looking to the yak for affirmation.

Gidahn raised his eyebrow and nodded.

"Okay, then after that..." Po hesitated. He shook his head just barely. "After that, came Kai. You probably have an understanding of what he was doing, and you probably know he was succeeding." Po glanced to the yak.

Gidahn's expression was unreadable as he waited.

"Well, I finally managed to stop him," Po said with a shrug. "In order to do that, I had to take him back to the Spirit Realm. When everything was all done and over… I woke up to find Master Oogway with me. I Found out that he lives in the Spirit Realm now. Well, the reason that's important is five years later, now, the present." Po glanced up and swallowed nervously. "I… myself and my master, Master Shifu, I'm sure you've heard of him…" Po looked down to his paws as he toyed with his fingers once more. "We… came to realize we were having nightmares. They were similar to each other. And they seemed to describe something really bad that's going to happen in the future…"

"Premonitions?" Gidahn asked without thinking. The panda's eyes shot up in surprise.

Po thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah… I guess you could call them that. Only happening while we were asleep instead of awake." He looked away again and shrugged. "Well… while Shifu and I tried to figure out how to interpret them… I was suddenly called back into the Spirit Realm," he looked up timidly, "by Oogway."

Gidahn narrowed his eyes and could feel his expression betraying his confusion.

Po nodded. "Yeah. I was confused too." He looked away and started pacing. "While I was there, Oogway told me that Shifu and I were right to be worried about our nightmares, but that he couldn't tell us what they were about. Though, while he couldn't do that, he said he was _obligated_ to give us something to help. He gave me something, a physical thing, and told me it was the second part of a Key; A Key to unlock the answers."

"Answers to what?" Gidahn asked.

Po looked to him solemnly as he stopped pacing. "Well… that's the point. We don't know anything. And this… this Key is supposed to answer questions… that we don't even have yet, honestly."

"And the bull falls into this how?" Gidahn asked, his suspicion obvious.

Po took a deep breath. "He's part of the Key."

Gidahn raised a brow almost comically high.

Po nodded. "I know, I know. It sounds crazy, but, let me explain," he said, holding his paws up. "Oogway gave me something in the Spirit Realm and told me it was the second part of the Key. He said the first part of the Key would be in the Mortal Realm. He then gave me this riddle, directions on how to find the first part. So, we deciphered the riddle, and it lead us here." Po gestured around. "A village that no one knew existed, that's flourishing like no one thought it could!" Po looked back to him with a small smile on his face. However, it fluttered away quickly. "And then… we saw Kai. Alive, mortal… and plowing a field," he said incredulously. "At first, we were in shock. And we, you know, saw it was Kai, so we thought we needed to strike first." Po shrugged exaggeratedly before letting out a heavy sigh. "I mean… I knew something was up… but I knew it was taking a big chance not to get the upper hand. And then, after finding out that he has _no_ memories what-so-ever… that's when I realized… he's the part one."

Po was quiet for a moment as he looked to the ground. He then looked back to the yak with wide eyes as he held onto his own fingers nervously.

Gidahn was looking at him but his eyes were unfocused. He was thinking over the words the panda had just spoken.

He was right. It did sound like some made up dream.

But it was so coincidental. The bull that could _easily_ be the one who had come to be known as Kai the Collector was right here in this village, and a great Kung Fu master from the Spirit Realm had directed his former pupils and current masters here, to this very village where that bull resided in search of a part to a figurative Key that would be crucial to some upcoming conflict.

Those coincidences alone held weight just thinking about them. And that was without even mentioning… the other thing.

Gidahn took a deep breath. He could feel the beginnings of a headache.

He then narrowed his eyes as something tugged at his mind. He looked up to the panda, who was still watching him quietly. "What was this riddle he gave you?" he asked. That seemed to be a key of its own. After all, without it, they apparently wouldn't have gotten to this particular village. Apparently, they wouldn't even have known about it.

Po blinked in surprise, but obliged. "Oogway said, 'You will find what you seek far to the south, deep in the dry and the frayed. A blue ribbon is all that will guide you and the green gem will glow like home.'"

Everything seemed to grow still and deafeningly silent.

Po looked at the yak apprehensively, his posture straitening.

Gidahn was barely aware of the world around him as he stared at the panda. He was barely aware of the fact that he'd stopped breathing. Barely aware that he was gripping his staff so hard his hooves ached. He lowered his head and took a breath to speak, the motion bringing to life a tremor in his limbs. "What…. did you just say?" he whispered, his eyes locked onto the black and white warrior as if he wasn't even real.

Po's expression took on a confused air as he shifted his weight. "I… want me to repeat the whole-"

"The _last_ part… what was that last part?..." Gidahn demanded in a near hiss, visibly shaking, his expression unreadable as his deep brown eyes held Po tightly in their gaze.

Po swallowed nervously, making a point not to blink or look away from the piercing gaze. "… 'the green gem will glow like home'," he repeated slowly.

Gidahn felt his breath leave him as the waking world seemed to swim around him. _That can't be real… it can't be real. He didn't just say that…_ he thought desperately, his mind bogged down and his shoulders heavy. He finally tore his eyes away. He removed his right hoof from his staff and wished his hadn't as it only annunciated just how badly he was shaking. He looked at the trembling appendage as if it too was a false reality and suddenly felt pressure at his knees. He looked to the ground and realized he was closer to it.

He'd fallen to his knees.

His ears were ringing. His heart was thundering in his chest. His whole body shook.

 _It can't be… it can't be real…_

Gidahn managed a shallow breath. Then, he felt a pressure on his right shoulder.

Instinct took over like a good friend taking his hoof.

He dipped his shoulder, his claws finding a wrist as his knees straightened and he was on his feet, his arm moving smoothly to twist the other arm around as his staff found the back of a shoulder and pushed.

In moments, Gidahn had the Dragon Warrior on the ground face first, arm bent behind his back, staff to his shoulder and knee to his back.

"Okay, okay!" came Po's muffled voice. "I shouldn't have touched you, I'm sorry," he said breathlessly, looking over his shoulder as best he could.

Gidahn blinked and suddenly reality came crashing back into his mind. He let go and stood, backing away quickly, replacing his staff to his right side and leaning on it heavily. His head throbbed, and his body felt sharply pained, as if he'd been drowning and had been pulled back to the surface to feel cold air tear into his lungs. He looked down, gripping his staff securely as he closed his eyes.

Po shook his head as he crawled to his feet. He looked at the yak incredulously. He rubbed the middle of his back where the yak's knee had been before rolling his shoulder. He shook his head in confusion. "I… who _are_ you?" he asked. "You just… you realize what you just did there, right? You put a Kung Fu _master_ to the ground? And you did it just as easily…" Po blinked as his eyes widened, "… as another master…"

He took a step forward, confusion giving way to determination. "Who are you _really?_ And…" Po stopped as something else occurred to him. "… and what does that phrase mean to you?" he asked, his voice growing soft.

Gidahn was silent as he held onto his staff for dear life, his limbs still shivering with the ghosts of his tremors. He allowed his head to hang as he clenched his eyes shut.

It had been so long… since this pain had been so strong.

His breaths came in soft flutters as the memory came unbidden… a soft smile wrapped in silvery fur; deep violet eyes wreathed in black coal and feathery lashes; dark, almost black mane falling wildly to frame a picture more beautiful than any work of art.

" _It's funny that you chose green. I always think of green when I look at you. Hmm... It glows like home…"_

Gidahn finally opened his eyes. His vision was blurry and he knew why. He released his staff with one hoof, bringing it to his face, running his claws under his eye. He looked to the moisture of his own tears before closing his eyes to shake his head slowly. "Long ago… those words… meant the world to me…" he whispered.

Po was quiet as he watched this supremely stoic individual completely broken down in front of him. He was afraid to ask any more than that. But the implications of this reaction were so heavy in his mind that he couldn't imagine keeping quiet. He looked down, tightening his lips as he clasped his paws in front of him. "I… I'm sorry," he said softly, glancing up.

He watched as the yak simply replaced his hoof to his staff, gripping it tightly as he leaned against it. He watched as he remained quiet, his breathing finally starting to steady as he stood there, regaining his posture and collecting his wits. He watched with bated breath, as the yak in front of him finally opened his eyes again, his expression becoming unreadable once more.

Po held his breath as the yak looked up to him.

"No, master Panda," Gidahn spoke, his voice low and strong. "Sorry is not the word."

Po swallowed nervously. "Its not?" he asked.

"No." Gidahn narrowed his eyes. "The word is 'right'."

 **XoXoX**

"Omen?" Bobo whispered.

He stared in shock at the crowd of villagers, their collective glares almost as strong as the morning light.

"Yes, omen!" one of the antelope shouted.

Bobo's gaze darted swiftly around to all of them, panic starting to rise as they all continued their encroachment. "I- I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Of course you do!" the older pig hollered. "It's been obvious since day one! I don't know why we even let you stay here!"

Bobo took a step back into his hut, confusion mingling with a sudden urge to run. "Wh-what?" He then blinked and looked to his left with a start, hearing a ruckus from the house.

Falling items and crashing glass could be heard from inside before the back door burst open.

"Mphhaget-OFF!" Miss Ling suddenly hollered, half falling, half jumping out the door, Tok and a few other villagers falling out behind her.

"Miss Ling!" Bobo called without thinking.

The elderly she-goose jumped to her feet and leveled her fiercest glare to the group of trespassers. "How DARE YOU!" She screamed. "You invade my property, confine me into my own house like a prisoner, and go on about your stupid crack-pot tellings!" She gestured wildly before slapping at the hooves of one of her would-be captors. "Get away from me!" She then hopped and kicked the pig square in the chest in a sudden display of agility. Tok had the other two busy by trying to keep the door shut, trapping them inside.

She turned her fury back to the crowd. "Got off my property and get away from my- BOBO!"

Bobo barely had time to look back to the crowd before a rope was slung up over his horns. Before he could react, it was pulled taught and pain shot through the nape of his neck at the jerking motion. In moments, he was on the ground and several of the villagers were upon him as they all started shouting and hollering. He only had the time to cover his head with his arms before he felt strikes along his back and sides, accompanied by the sensations of the ropes and leads being thrown across him and even the weight of several villagers that were crawling on top of him. It was when he felt the shovels and other items whacking at his horns that panic really started to take hold. The hits sent jarring sensations down his horns to his temples and neck, and with the problem he'd caused himself last night, each hit caused a flash of pain that radiated down his spine with every impact.

He felt his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he tried to move, his arms still covering his face as he tried to get to his knees. He felt more hits on his arms, again on his horns, and felt the villagers still on top of him start to hit him with their own hooves or wings as others pulled at his mane. He tried to shake his head but realized they must have put more ropes around his horns in the chaos of the moment.

Then his ears picked up something above the shouts and jeers.

"Stop it! Get off him, get away, all of you! Go away, ffu- get OFF ME!"

Miss Ling's voice resonated with a chord he'd never heard from her before.

Fear.

Terror gripped Bobo's insides and he finally removed his arms and started trying to free himself in earnest. "Get off me!" he shouted, rearing up to his feet. He felt the villagers fall off and he twisted and turned to shake off the ropes and leads. He gripped at the ropes looped around his horns and pulled, feeling them give way rather easily as he opened his eyes in time to see several of the villagers charging for him. He raised his arms to stop the rakes and shovels from hitting him in the face, but yelped as he felt someone smash a rock onto his foot. He then felt the ropes tug again and he was back on the ground, more of the villagers piling on top of him.

He closed his eyes tight and covered his face with one arm as he felt more hits from all over. He tried again to get to his knees but regretted that move as he felt sharp jabs poke harshly at his belly and ribcage. "Please! Please stop!" he called desperately. In the chaos, he could still hear Miss Ling's voice carrying over the pandemonium, shrill and desperate as she begged for them to stop what they were doing.

Then-

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!"

Everything stopped.

Bobo froze solid, petrified by the booming angry voice that had broken through the turmoil. He ventured dropping his arm a hair and opened his eyes fearfully. He gasped. "Gidahn," he breathed.

The large yak stood tall at the edge of the crowd, his back to the crops as his glare seemed to burn brighter than the morning sun above them. He lowered his head, his fiery gaze sweeping the scene before him. "What… is the meaning of this?" he repeated in a deceptively smooth voice, venom dripping from every word as if a viper ready to strike.

Ling was the first to gather her wits, even from her position pinned to the ground by two hearty antelope and a burley pig. "Gidahn! Do something! They've all gone insane!"

Gidahn looked from her to the bull still stifled under the mass of people.

Bobo was wide-eyed and desperate, pleading with Gidahn through his stare alone, too petrified to form words as his heartbeat continued to rage in his ears.

Gidahn looked away, directing his attention to the villagers. "Explain yourselves."

"He is an omen, Gidahn, a bad omen, always was!" the old pig shouted. "We should have known bad things would start happening!"

"Yeah, just cuz it took five years doesn't mean they weren't coming," yelled another pig from the group.

"Listen to yourselves," Tok suddenly called, pinned to the wall by several angry antelope. "Look at all he's-"

"Shut your muzzle!" one of them yelled, punching their hoof into the wall next to his head. "You're just Ling's lacky!"

"And a good one he is!" Ling hollered, still struggling to get free. "He still knows what's what, even if he's a little thick! Which is more than I can say for any of-"

"You were the first, Ling, did you forget about that?" the old pig cut her off. "You were the one who wanted to throw him in the river when he first showed up!"

"Not because I thought he was an omen, you fool!" she retorted, her normal angry tinge returning to her voice. "And after all this time, you really want to start with this again!?"

"The only one who's benefitted from him being here is you," called one of the antelope in the back of the crowd.

"Wha- are you BLIND!?" Ling yelled furiously.

"Enough."

All eyes turned back to Gidahn, his stoic mask all but returned except for the fire in his eyes. He started forward, the crowd of villagers parting before him. He made his way slowly to the bull, the silence hanging overhead thick with anger and animosity radiating from the villagers as they all glared spitefully. Gidahn stopped just in front of him, moving his staff from his right hoof to his left as he regarded the downed behemoth.

Bobo looked up as best as he could. He dug his claws into the ground in front of him as he continued to look for some sign of understanding, protectiveness, kindness, something, _anything_ from the yak who had been his unofficial guardian over the years. _Please…_ he thought desperately, as if the yak could hear his thoughts. _Please help…_

Gidahn broke their stare to look to his right. Ling looked to him with wide, fearful eyes. His gaze roamed around to the other villagers. Their combined hostility created a tension in the air that could be cut with a knife.

"Well? Gidahn?" the older pig practically spat.

A wave of apprehension descended like a fog as Gidahn finally looked back down to Bobo. His stoic mask was finally back in place, his eyes completely unreadable.

Bobo felt cold terror grip his heart as his breath hitched. "Gidahn… please…" he whispered, his voice so soft he wasn't even sure he'd spoken at all.

Gidahn tilted his head. He took a deep breath with excruciating slowness. Then, He lifted his staff. He reached it forward, the foot of it mere inches from Bobo's right temple. He raised it slowly. His next moves were quick, his right arm moving so he could grip the staff with both hooves, his left leg stretching forward as the sound of rushing air cut through the silence before-

Pain.

Then darkness.

 **XoXoX**

The air was flat again. No wind, no gentle breeze. Just stillness and a cloudless sky. The sound of rushing water could be heard not too far away.

Gidahn took a deep breath as he sat on a stump, fiddling with a blade of grass between his claws. He was well aware of his sons' eyes on him. Mika was up and about, patrolling the forestry to make sure no villagers were trying to sneak to the area. It had been a miracle he'd managed to talk them down and convince them to let him do the dirty work of the deed they'd envisioned.

They'd had every intension of killing the bull. Though, not one of them knew how to go about the act. As harsh as they were, there were only a few of them who'd had _that_ displeasure in life. And that would have been during some conflict decades ago when someone else was telling them what to do, and the person under their blade was a target and nothing else. And while he himself hadn't taken a life in just as many decades, he was a good actor. He was concerned he'd convinced his own sons that perhaps he had some dark, mysterious hidden life they didn't know about.

Luckily, his sons knew him better.

Gidahn breathed deeply again, eyes drifting from the horizon to the unconscious bull a few yards away. He was still wrapped in rope and netting and placed neatly on the grass.

"You're not actually going to…"

Gidahn couldn't help a small chuckle escaping him. _Well, I thought they knew me better_ , he mused. "No, Mel. That isn't going to happen."

Tai shifted next to his brother, leaning his staff to his shoulder. "Then what are we going to do? You made it sound like you'd wipe his existence from the face of the earth."

Gidahn raised a brow and glanced to his sons. "Was I really so melodramatic?" he asked, amusement in his voice.

Mel and Tai glanced to each other and shrugged before looking back. "Well," Mel started, "you were angry."

"And you're colorful with your words when you're angry," Tai added.

Gidahn regarded them blankly for a moment before smirking as he looked back to the grass leaf between his claws. "So, you're saying when I'm angry you don't have to worry about me yelling, but talking over your head."

Mel chuckled. "Basically."

"It's easy to talk over Mel's head though," Tai said, his own smirk coloring his voice.

Mel looked to his brother and whacked him on the shoulder lightly. "Shut it, I'm not dumb."

"I didn't say that," Tai said amiably.

They both looked to their father and quieted down as he continued to sit pensively on a fairly fresh stump. They were in an area of the forestry next to the river going east. They'd cleared some of this portion about a week ago, but only the smaller new growths near the river's edge. The rest was still the thick, burly trees of age. They left them for the purpose of privacy and protection, as the ring of trees around the village was a good safeguard from general inconveniences, such as rolling winds and prying eyes. If ever there were many eyes to pry. It was mostly the eyes from inside that needed to be worried over.

Tai watched his father quietly before taking a deep breath. "You're going to hand him over to them, aren't you?"

Gidahn didn't speak for a moment, though, he knew the silence would be answer enough. He looked back to the bull, his shoulders feeling suddenly heavy but light at the same time. "I had made that decision before the dawn of this day. The only question was how to proceed with it." He flicked an ear as he looked back to the ground. "It seems fate's acts are faster than my own."

"I didn't think they could be so cruel," Mel suddenly said, his gaze low. "It's sickening…"

"After everything his presence has brought here," Tai spoke, "and they still turned on him in the blink of an eye."

Gidahn nodded. "You will find, my sons, that people can disappoint you quiet thoroughly." He finally stood, lowering his hoof to let the grass leaf flutter to the ground. "But that is why you listen to your instincts as I have always told you," he added.

"And that's also why our house is as far on the outskirts as we can get it, yeah?" Tai questioned with a raised brow and haughty smirk.

Gidahn looked to his son and shook his head as if in disapproval, though the quirk of his own lips gave away his amusement. "I'd have thought you'd figured that out long ago."

The amusement in the air started to snuff out as Gidahn reached for his own staff, propped against the stump next to the one he'd been seated on. He could feel the tension from his sons as they took a more readied stance as well.

"So, what's the plan?" Mel asked.

Gidahn was quiet a moment as he looked to their charge. He gripped his staff tightly as he mulled over the situation. He heaved a sigh. "We'll start with you two going back into the trees to keep watch." He could feel their confusion.

"Why?" Tai asked. "Mika will call us, she doesn't let anything slip-"

"I am a concerned father that does not wish my sons to see me commit an atrocious act." Gidahn turned his head and looked to them pointedly. "Keeping watch is an obvious excuse, one you won't ask me to explain because you already understand." He raised his brow and tilted his head forward.

Realization spread across their faces and they looked to one another. There wasn't a story to get straight or mix up if they weren't present to begin with.

Tai looked back to his father and stood tall, tapping his staff to the ground. "Of course, Father. Make sure to give him our kind words before you _send him off_ ," he said in a smooth tone.

Mel took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders. "Give him Mika's as well. Since she can't speak for herself right now." The statement was both literal and figurative. The bunny was presently doing her job, but she had been quiet the whole morning. She'd learned from her adoptive father to grow quiet when upset.

They'd hear it by the end of the night, though.

Gidahn nodded to his sons and turned as they started away. He stood pensively, his eyes on the bull as he listened to them making their way further into the tree line. He waited until all noise from them was gone, only the sound of the river's running water in the distance breaking the silence. He remained still, his mind quiet as he allowed the moment to stretch.

He had to admit, he felt strangely at peace with this outcome. He'd known ever since the bull had appeared on Ling's property that one day he'd be departing. He hadn't thought it would be so long before he did. He also hadn't thought it would be like this. Though, if he was honest with himself, he'd really never known what to think of the situation.

But now, it all made a strange kind of sense.

 _Even the part our friends don't know yet,_ Gidahn thought with an odd sense of amusement. _A pity I won't be around to see their faces when they find out._ He allowed himself a small smirk before heaving a sigh and starting towards the unconscious behemoth.

 **XoXoX**

"You think he'll actually do it?" Tigress asked quietly, arms crossed as she leaned against a tree.

Po sat on the ground, legs crossed and paws clasped in his lap, eyes on the grass yet not seeing it. "Oh yeah. He'll do it." He met her gaze. "I'm just not so sure Kai will be up for it."

The team sat or stood in some leisurely fashion as if simply passing time on a lazy day. But really they were waiting.

Po had managed to convince Gidahn of their purpose and who the bull really was. He couldn't answer their questions on what exactly it was that had flipped Gidahn's opinion or feelings on the matter, as the yak had simply sealed his lips at Po's own questions. But one thing that had been made absolutely clear was that Gidahn had suddenly come by an intense determination to help Po and the Five. He'd been adamant that the bull was leaving with them by days end, though how he was going achieve that was questionable.

While he didn't outline a plan, he did tell Po that he and the Five needed to move. He directed them to a large, triangular outcropping of trees far off to the southeast of the village. It was a more thickly wooded area, and only himself, his sons, and his charge Mika ever crossed that way, usually for their wood cultivation. He assured them that they would not be found, and that he would either get Kai to the area for them or he'd send Mika with any information to the contrary.

They had been weary of the instruction at first, but deciding to put trust into action, they did as he said. They had yet to hear or see anything even remotely threatening or suspicious, so by all accounts, Gidahn was keeping his word. Though, they all still held an air of caution despite their relaxed postures.

"Just out of curiosity," Crane interjected, "Are we gonna keep calling him Bobo, or are we going to call him his actual name?" he asked.

"We shouldn't rush this on him," Viper said from her position on a nearby rock. He adjusted herself, coiling slightly tighter. "He's still traumatized as it is."

"Which is funny if you think about it," Mantis said from his position next to her, scratching at his chin lazily. He glanced to the side to see Viper's pointed expression and shrugged. "Well, isn't it?"

Po couldn't fight a small smile but shook his head. "Yeah, I have to agree with Viper. Let's take it slow. He's Bobo right now."

"Well," Crane shifted his weight, looking at the ground as if examining a scroll, "How are we going to do this? I mean, we don't know anything about how to jog someone's mind when they've lost _all_ memory of themselves. Where do we start?" he asked, looking to Po with concern.

Po didn't have an answer for that. He looked away as he tried to let his mind come up with some sort of idea.

It was as empty as the cloudless sky above them.

"We just have to wait and see," Monkey said from his position in the tree Tigress was leaning against. "We need to wait and watch. See what makes him tick right now, see how he thinks."

"A solution will present itself," Tigress added. "And besides, once we get him back to the palace Shifu might have some ideas."

Po gasped lightly. "Oh, that's right! We didn't think of that!" He looked to Tigress in alarm. "What is Shifu gonna do when he sees him?"

Tigress regarded him for a moment before finally shrugging and closing her eyes. "There is no way to know. We'll just have to see what happens."

"That brings about another issue," Crane said, looking to them worriedly. "We can't just trek him through the Valley… if we recognized him so easily, the villagers might too."

"Not really," Monkey said with a shrug, swinging his feet. "We evacuated the Valley before Kai showed up. So none of them really know. And he doesn't act like a five-hundred-year-old warlord bent on destruction, so he may not catch their eye anyway." He then looked away and squinted his eyes. "Well, other than him being a bull of course."

"That's right," Mantis said, tapping a foreclaw to his chin in thought. "It's gonna look really weird for them to see us dragging a random nomad around with us. I mean," he looked to Crane, "nomads aren't known for traveling by themselves or with any other folks are they?"

Crane took a deep breath and shook his head. "No, not that I've ever seen. The smallest group they'll travel in, which is almost always a working party, has at least twenty individuals in it, usually more. And even when one person splits from the group, it's either the eldest one by way of experience, or the member is watched carefully to make sure nothing happens to them."

Po scrunched his eyebrows down. "Okay, I'm… kinda confused I guess." He looked to Crane. "I've only ever heard random stories of nomads. What's the deal with them exactly?"

Crane shrugged. "Well, quite simply, nomads are bull-folk. That's it, that's all there is. Bulls have always been really distrusting of other folks to an extreme fault. So extreme, that there isn't any known village or city where they congregate. They live in huge caravans, usually travelling in massive groups across China. You never really see the caravans because they set their tents up way away from populated areas, and send working parties into the villages or cities to sell their wares and talents. They kind of come and go with the seasons, depending on which caravan we're talking about." Crane tilted his head and looked up in thought. "The goods I know for sure they deal in are leathers, metalworks, arts, tobaccos and jewelries. And then there's the dancers." He glanced to the side, the feathers of his neck ruffling upward in the avian equivalent of a blush. "They have some _very_ good dancers."

"Is that so?" Viper said, amusement tickling her voice as she looked to Crane with a smirk.

Crane swallowed nervously and ran his wingtip along the back of his neck. "Um… yeah. You don't see many she-bulls, but what few you see in public eye are usually vending wares with the males standing guard or they're dancers. They'll dance in village common areas or city squares to attract attention. They get a lot of coin that way, actually. They put on a pretty good show."

"I'm guessing you've seen a few, eh?" Mantis chided with a sly grin.

Crane shot him a glare. "Well of course I have. The city that the academy bordered was a popular money maker for a particular caravan." He looked away with a shrug. "They were there every spring. And they always had a group of dancers that performed."

"What kind of dances did they do?" Viper asked curiously.

Crane looked to her and gave an exaggerated shrug. "Honestly, I couldn't tell you. I didn't know any back then, and even now that I'm more well read on many things, there have never been any dance styles that I've read about that looked anything like what they did."

"Really?" Viper questioned in surprise. "I think I'd like to see sometime!"

Crane nodded. "I'm sure you'd enjoy it," he said with a smile. "But anyway," he averted his gaze and shook his head, "that's basically all there is to know. Anything else, and you'll have to ask a nomad yourself. And good luck with _that_ ," he said looking to Po with wide eyes.

Po blinked. "Why?"

"Bulls hate being questioned," Crane answered. "And I mean, _hate_. If you wanna ask about what they're selling or a trade deal or even a commission, they're real chatterboxes, but try anything beyond that and you could get a hoof to the face."

Po raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

Crane nodded. "Oh yeah. I overheard a rhino ask a bull if one of the dancers was his wife. The bull answered 'who is married to who is none of your concern'. The rhino said he was just curious and then- WHAM!" Crane splayed his wings out. "He got a fist to the face faster than he could do a double-take."

"Ouch!" Mantis chimed. "A little uptight, huh?"

Crane refolded his wings and shrugged. "Yep. That's why I always just minded my own business. I did buy beads from them at one point," he said, tilting his head in remembrance. "I still have them in a box in my room, actually."

Po nodded thoughtfully and looked to the ground. He felt his eyebrows draw down as he chewed on his lip.

"What'cha thinking there, Po?" Monkey questioned from his branch.

Po glanced up. "I was wondering if bulls have always been this way."

Tigress tilted her head as she regarded him. "You mean if they were like this even back in Kai's time?"

Po nodded slowly.

"That's a pretty good question actually," Mantis agreed. "I mean, if they were always like this… then how did Kai even meet Oogway?"

They all looked to one another as silence crept between them.

"I think that's a better question," Viper spoke up, her eyes distant, her gaze aimed at the rock she rested on. "How did master Oogway meet Kai? And if bulls are so distrustful, how did they become friends?"

No suggestions came.

The returned silence was broken once more as Crane readjusted his wings. "There's a lot about Oogway's past that we don't know, isn't there?" he mused.

"So it would seem," Tigress said, her own gaze distant.

Po looked from the two of them and focused on the grass again. He wasn't sure what to do about this revelation. He had a feeling no one else knew what to do about it either. _I wonder… if that will play a part in this whole thing?_ he thought.

The silence returned yet again and this time remained unbroken as they all got lost in their thoughts.

 **XoXoX**

The sound of rushing water was the first thing to make it through the haze. The smell of it was prominent as well, proving it was quite close.

For a few moments, he remained still, letting his mind creep out of it's fog. He wished maybe it hadn't crept so slow, but then the pounding in his temples and aches along his back started and he suddenly wished he was unconscious again.

Bobo resisted the urge to groan, but couldn't stop an intake of breath and a shiver down his body. He could tell he was laying on rocks, among other things. They were cold and he could feel the moisture in the air. He was close to the river, probably within yards, but why? He didn't have any reason to be there, especially not asleep or laying down. And it wasn't even the right day to collect water, was it?

Sudden glimpses of memory flashed across his closed eyes and Bobo gasped. His eyes flew open and he shot up, his gaze darting around frantically. "Where am I- where are they- what- ah!" He clenched his eyes shut and brought his hooves to his temples as he cringed into himself, the throbbing intensifying with his sudden movement and his head swimming. "Ooowww…" he moaned, biting his lip.

"No need to panic. You're safe now."

Bobo's eyes flew open again and he turned the direction the voice had come. To his right a few feet away was Gidahn sitting on a stump.

Bobo opened his mouth the speak but hissed instead, closing his eyes once more as the throbbing got the better of him again. He heard a rich chuckle, and it both surprised him and scared him at the same time.

Gidahn didn't show emotion much, if ever.

"You need to move slow. I gave you quite a hit."

Bobo opened his eyes, slowly this time, and continued putting pressure at his temples just under his horns. He kept his eyes down, however, ears listening intently. No more words came. And there was no sound indicating that Gidahn had moved. He took a slow deep breath, bracing himself against the lightheadedness. "I thought… I thought you were going to kill me…" he said quietly.

It was silent for a few moments. He could feel Gidahn's gaze on him.

"They think I'm going to. And that's the way I want it."

Bobo felt his own body become still. Something was stirring in his chest, a mix of anxiety and confusion, not unlike what he'd felt the night before when talking to the stranger, but with a cloud of apprehension hanging over it all.

"No."

Bobo blinked. He tilted his head and slowly turned to look at Gidahn again. The yak didn't appear to have that stoic expression that he was so practiced at. But whatever expression was upon his face was just as unreadable. Bobo glanced away then back. "I… what?"

Gidahn suddenly gave a small, kind smile. "No, I'm not going to kill you."

Bobo's eyes widened and he stared. He felt rather dumb as no reasoning presented itself to him. "… I don't understand," he finally said, lowering his hooves to his lap as his shoulders slumped. "If… I mean…" he looked to the rocks. "What are you going to do with me then? If you want them to think you're going to kill me… but you aren't…" He shook his head, looking up in frustration.

Gidahn simply kept that small smile as he gave a slight shrug and a tilt of his head. "I'm going to do something you may like even less."

Bobo stared unabashedly.

"I'm going to hand you over to the strangers."

Dread immediately started to fill Bobo's chest and he shook his head, eyes darting down and every which way. "No. No, no, no- why? Why would you- I- I don't-"

"You won't."

Bobo looked back to Gidahn at the abrupt words. "What?" he asked fearfully.

Gidahn took a deep breath, his expression almost fatherly. "You won't understand," he said, his words slow and deliberate. "Not at first, and probably not during. But in the end, when the time comes, you will understand _everything_ again."

Bobo's eyes were locked onto those deep brown irises. He tried to form words, but the only thing that seemed to make it out was a single quietly whispered word. "What?"

Gidahn looked at him with a sagely expression that seemed foreign yet right at home on his features. "You have been lost for a long time. Your eyes are closed to it… but I can see it."

Bobo couldn't help but stare wide-eyed. That feeling, that strange feeling that had engulfed him the night before crept back into his chest, his limbs strangely light and heavy at the same time. His gaze never wavered as he reached a hoof up to his chest, hovering there lightly against the steadily building ache. "What do you mean?" he asked softly.

Gidahn lowered his head, his eyes boring into his own with an intensity that seemed to spring out of nowhere. "You know you've lived longer than five years. You know that you are more than this tiny village and these closed off people. And you know these words are true." Gidahn finally broke their stare for a moment, looking beyond the bull to the river behind him. "You are not who you were. But you are not who you are supposed to be. And you'll never know… never grow… if you stay here." Gidahn's eyes found his again. "And you know I'm right."

Bobo blinked away from their staring match, only to have to close his eyes tight and run his claws over his face. Tears had stained his face at Gidahn's few and simple words. More tears flowed freely at his motions, the ache in his chest grew stronger, and he felt sick to his stomach.

"I'm afraid…" he grated out, lowering his head and folding into himself. He didn't know what any of this meant. He didn't know what to do, what to say. All he had memory of was this village with its tall trees and sprawling land, the people who lived in it, Miss Ling and her farm, Tok, Mel, Tai, Mika, Gidahn. This was all he knew… wasn't it?

The ache in his chest seemed to pulse, almost as if mirroring another's heartbeat and he curled inward further. That feeling, that strange, painful, aching feeling saturated everything and felt as if it sank into his very bones.

It was whispering something to him.

The back if his mind buzzed as if someone had taken to humming lightly behind his ear, and he felt words he hadn't thought forming in his mind and on his lips.

"Who am I?"

He jolted as he felt a soft pressure against his shoulder. He shuddered and cringed for a moment. When nothing else happened, he opened his eyes with difficulty and slowly turned his head around.

Gidahn looked to him with the gentle eyes of a father, the concerned eyes of a mentor… the caring eyes of a friend. "Do you really want to answer that question?" He asked quietly.

Bobo couldn't break eye contact. He looked into Gidahn's eyes as if searching for the answer there.

Finally, he felt his expression mar. His vision clouded once more. His eyes stung. His chest ached.

"Yes."

 **XoXoX**

It had been three hours. If he was counting correctly.

It had been three hours since the talk with Gidahn.

Bobo stared at the sky, eyes lidded heavily against the light of the sun. He remained still, seated against the boulder he'd found.

Gidahn had let him ride out the waves of the emotional torrent that had accosted him, much like Miss Ling had the night before. After it was all said and done, the Yak had stood him up, brushed him off, and told him where he needed to go.

He hadn't wanted to go.

He hadn't lied to Gidahn, about wanting to know who he was. But he still didn't want to go with the strangers. Part of him had thought of asking if Gidahn could help him, if there was another way. But he had remained quiet, as the greater part of him had already given in to the reality of the situation.

Gidahn had done all he could.

It was a miracle he was even alive considering the mentality of the villagers. He couldn't really ask any more of Gidahn after a feat like that.

And he couldn't sit against this boulder forever.

Bobo finally looked down, closing his eyes for a few moments before opening them back up to look in the direction the strangers were supposed to be. Gidahn had been clear: they were in the furthest southeastern tip of the forestry. He was basically there, but outside the tree line. He'd wanted to sit closer to the river, but he knew that was too exposed. Although, against the boulder as he was, he was facing the trees. So, the strangers could be watching him this very moment and he might not know.

Bobo sighed. He looked down to the spot just in front of his crossed legs. The grass appeared taller than when he'd first sat down. He allowed a small smile before reaching out and plucking a leaf. He held it between his claws gently, running the very end of his thumb claw up the length, wondering for what was likely the thousandth time what the sensation felt like to a goose's feathers or to the tiny claws of an antelope…. Or the small paws of a bunny.

His smile faded. He'd asked Gidahn if he would see… any of them. Ever again. Gidahn hadn't had an answer. He'd only said things would work out as they should.

 _He's gotten rather confusing after all this, hasn't he?_ Bobo thought absently.

"Hey big guy!"

"DAH!" Bobo jolted and ducked into himself, flinging his arms up over his neck and bringing his knees to his face, curling into a ball.

"Whoa, whoa, you're okay! We didn't mean to scare you!" came a feminine voice.

Bobo opened his eyes, having clenched them shut on reflex. He'd heard that voice before. He swallowed hard and slowly unfolded, letting his legs back to the ground as he removed his arms. He looked up and around, gradually sitting up straighter as he did so, but didn't see anything. He tilted his head, his eyebrows scrunching down in confusion.

A bubbly giggle sounded to his right. "Behind you silly!"

Bobo tensed and whipped his head to the right. Draped over the top edge of the boulder was none other than the viper from the group of strangers. She smiled lightly and tilted her head. He blinked, eyes wide. "Uh… h-hi?"

"You've been here a while, you know. We were starting to get worried."

Bobo whipped around to his left, hooves drawn in to his chest in surprise. Perched precariously along the boulder's slope was none other than the green buggy. "Um…" Bobo blinked slowly. "You… you were worried?"

"Well yeah!" the bug answered with a kind smile. "We've been waiting for you."

Bobo stared as he remained frozen in place. "You have?"

"He did tell you that, didn't he?" asked the viper behind him.

He hesitantly took his eyes from the bug to look at the serpent. "Um…" He stared at her kind eyes and partial smile. "Kind of," he answered, guessing they were referring to Gidahn.

"You know, you don't have to be afraid of us," the bug suddenly said from behind him. Before Bobo could look at him, he had jumped off the rock to stand a few feet in front of him. "We don't want to hurt you." He then shrugged and scratched the back of his tiny head with his foreclaw. "I mean, I know we made a bad first impression, but that happens sometimes, right?" he asked with a shrug.

Bobo simply stared at him. He swallowed nervously as he lowered his hooves into his lap. "I guess," he muttered, glancing away.

"Are you thirsty?" the viper suddenly asked.

Bobo looked to her in surprise. "Wha- I… um…" he then looked to the grass. He hadn't really thought about food or water. He usually forgot about those things. He looked up with a start as she moved out of sight and then slithered from around the rock, a decently sized gourd wrapped in the end of her tail.

She held it out to him with a smile. "It's freshly filled from the river! You've been here so long we thought you might need it."

He looked at the gourd, to her, to the bug, then back without moving. He blinked as he fiddled with his claws in his lap. "Um… I…" He glanced to the side, unsure of what to do or say.

"It's okay, it's not like we're gonna poison you or something," the bug said in a cheerful tone.

"Mantis!" the viper said sharply, hissing at him lightly.

Bobo looked back to the two with a raised brow. "Huh?"

The bug stood straight, having crouched down at his cohort's rebuke. "I um, I mean, it's safe to drink, perfectly safe. We can take a drink from it first if you don't believe us," he suggested.

The viper rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Bobo looked between them and tightened his lips. Admittedly, the exchange was… lightening. They seemed a lot less threatening when talking amongst themselves. He looked back to the gourd and then back to them. "You, um… you don't have to do that," he said, feeling rather awkward. "I'll trust you."

They both looked to him with hopeful expressions and the viper took the opportunity to push the gourd closer.

Bobo looked to it in surprise. _Oh yeah, that probably means I should drink from it_ , he thought. He resisted the urge to swallow sudden nerves and finally reached out to it, though he couldn't help doing so slowly. He picked it up and brought it to his lap, glancing to the two of them fleetingly as he did. He glanced to either side of himself and pulled out the cork. Finally, he put the mouth to his lips and took a swift drink. Or, what was supposed to be one.

As soon as the water hit his tongue he realized just how dry his mouth was and almost on pure instinct his simply kept drinking. Before he knew it, he had the gourd tipped completely upside down and the last of the water was trickling away. He finally lowered his head and took a deep breath as he removed the vessel, looking at it as if it was the sole source of his sudden thirst.

"Heheh, told you," the bug said with an amused tinge to his voice.

Bobo looked up to see him making an elbowing motion to the viper who was rolling her eyes again. "Huh?" he asked.

The bug looked to him and grinned. "I knew you'd be thirsty. You've already had a pretty long day."

Bobo looked down at that. _They must know… what happened._ He took a deep breath and absently put the cork back into the gourd. "Yeah…"

"Well, no need to dwell on it," the Viper said suddenly.

Bobo looked up to see her look at him with a soft smile.

"Are you hungry? We have plenty of food," she said kindly. "And our friend is an _amazing_ cook!"

Bobo tilted his head, both surprised by how readily she offered and how excited she seemed to be. He looked back to the grass and then the gourd. He suddenly straightened. "Oh. Did- do you want me to refill this?" he asked.

It was the viper's turn to be surprised and she tilted her head before giggling. "Oh no, that's okay! We can refill it in a little bit," she said.

He looked away as he fiddled with the vessel in his hooves. "Okay," he murmured.

"If you don't want to go yet, we can sit for a while," the bug said suddenly.

Bobo's eyes shot to him in surprise. "Here?" he asked a little too quickly.

The bug and viper glanced to each other before looking to him with kind expressions.

"Sure," the serpent answered. "It's nice out, and the grass is soft here," she said, lowering herself closer to the ground as she coiled her tail around her.

"The grass is a bit taller too, isn't it," the bug said absently, pushing a few blades to either side of himself.

Bobo kept his mouth shut at that, looking to the aforementioned greenery. He was quiet a moment as he thought. "We… we can go… if you want," he said. "I've kept you waiting long enough…" he finished quietly.

It remained quiet for a moment before the viper spoke softly.

"Are you sure? It's okay if you want to wait a little longer," she said warmly.

Bobo looked up to her and was surprised to see just how open and caring her expression was. He blinked and looked down, thinking on her words. "It's… it's okay. I'm ready." He knew he was lying. But he also knew if he took them up on their offer, he probably wouldn't move at all. And that would probably just cause issues.

"Well," the bug chimed, "let's get to it then!" he said, turning and motioning onward with his foreclaw.

The viper looked to him with a smile.

Before he could stop himself, Bobo given a small smile in return. The fact that he'd done it was a surprise as much as their apparent eagerness. "Okay," he responded.

They moved forward just a bit as he finally moved to stand, feeling his back pop in several places. He grimaced and made a mental note to pick something other than boulders to lean against in the future. He finally looked to them as they continued watching. They both nodded to him expectantly. He blinked in surprise and nodded back. With that, they turned and started to the trees slowly.

Bobo watched them and took a moment to look at the sky, then back to what he could see of the river. He took a slow deep breath. Finally, he looked back to them and took a step forward, following in their path as they headed into the tree line.

 **XxXxX**

* * *

 **Thank you for the read! Have a good day or night and a wonderful time~**


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Kung Fu Panda, nor am I in any way affiliated with it's creators. All belongs to DreamWorks.**

 **I only claim the storyline and OC's.**

 **Author's note below:**

 **Someone mentioned it seemed like Gidahn had told Bobo something of who he really was. Negative. He's still in the dark. We'll get to the fun bits soon, though.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6~***

"Stop fidgeting," Tigress said as she turned and started back along the track she'd just walked, already having paced long enough to make a rut in the grass.

"Stop pacing," Po retorted from his position seated on the rock Mantis and Viper had been previously stationed.

"You two are so cute when you bicker, aren't they Monkey?" Crane said, tilting his head with a haughty expression.

Monkey chuckled from his position still in the tree. "Ya! I think maybe they should just-"

"Shut up!" Po and Tigress said in unity.

Crane and Monkey burst out laughing.

"You two are so tense!" Crane said, wiping his eye with a wingtip.

"You two need to focus," Tigress said in a low voice.

"We are focused!" Monkey said flightily as he turned and leaned back, hooking his legs to his branch and hanging himself upside down. "We're focused on you! You both look like you're waiting for the arrival of a cub or something," he said, amusement saturating his voice.

Po sighed. "Really, guys? Aren't you nervous?"

Crane shrugged. "I've been nervous since we got here, honestly. But having had anxiety for as long as I can remember, I've learned some coping mechanisms."

Po sat up straighter. "Wait, really?"

Crane tilted his head in surprise. "Well yeah. You didn't know that?"

Po looked to the side in thought. "Well, not really. I guess you're just that good," he said with a grin.

Crane chuckled. "Yeah, you get good at it after a while."

"So, what are you doing to cope right now?" Monkey asked.

Crane didn't even skip a beat. "Making fun of Po and Tigress."

All three males laughed lightly as they heard a low growl from the feline, still pacing her track in the grass.

"Get your heads on straight," she said, seeming more than a little irked.

Monkey sighed as he crossed his arms. "Tigress, I understand the nerves, I do. But we aren't waiting for _Kai_. We're waiting for _Bobo_." He shrugged, looking up, or rather down, at Tigress. "We're probably going to have a harder time reassuring him we can be trusted than having to defend ourselves from any attack."

Tigress merely glanced to him with a raised brow as she turned again.

Po slouched in his spot as he watched her. "You're right, Monkey. But it's still… hard." He looked to the grass and shook his head lightly. "Even sneaking up on him when he was in his hut was hard. I had a ball of anxiety in my stomach and my fur was standing on end. It was hard to focus. I was sure he was going to just burst out of there and start throwing punches."

"You've been his biggest advocate, Po," Crane said, standing straighter. "Are you saying you aren't sure?" he asked in confusion.

Po shook his head quickly, raising a paw. "No, no, I'm sure this is right, and I know he doesn't remember anything, and I know he needs our help as much as we'll need his… No, that's not what I mean…"

"What do you mean?" Monkey asked.

Po clasped his paws in his lap. He was quiet a moment as he thought. "I guess… I guess it's just hard to keep from being worried… about what will happen when… he _does_ remember."

"How will he react?" Tigress suddenly said, all eyes turning to her as she stood still, having stopped her pacing. "What will he do?" She looked up, eyes glancing to Crane and Monkey before landing on Po. "That is the hard part: Not knowing."

They all remained quiet for a moment, their thoughts getting the better of them.

Monkey sniffed loudly and started rocking on his branch. "All we can do is do our best, yah? I mean, maybe if he sees there's no reason to be enemies, he'll change his ways."

Po looked up at that, his eyes darting from Monkey to Tigress. She was looking to the ground, arms crossed. She didn't look very believing of that comment. He huffed. "We'll find out… I guess," he said.

"But for now, one step at a time," Crane said, his head shooting to his immediate left.

Tigress and Po straightened up and Monkey leaned forward lightly. Viper and Mantis became visible through the brush as heavy steps could be heard behind them.

"Hey guys!" Mantis called with a wave.

"We're back!" Viper followed up with a smile. "And we have-" she looked behind her only to see nothing, "uh… Bobo?"

Everyone started at the spots of foliage just behind the two masters. For a moment, nothing happened. Then there was a slight rustling as a branch was inched downward. Large green eyes peered out, looking to the others in turn.

Viper giggled. "Silly, they've been expecting you. No need to be shy." Before any reaction could be had, she slithered back around, disappearing back into the grass.

A yelp and thud and suddenly the bull burst out of the branches, looking behind him as he clutched something in his hooves.

Po immediately relaxed, his tension falling away as if being guided by a gentle breeze. The last thing the real Kai would have done would have been show his back to five Masters. This, if anything, should be enough to convince the others. He glanced to Tigress. She had her arms crossed and her face was the hardened mask of stoicism she was so practiced with. But her tail gave her away. The very end twitched back and forth, a sign of annoyance, confusion, or both. Po couldn't help a small smile. He finally looked back to the confused bull in time to see him watching Viper slither back around in front of him.

Po was suddenly struck by the childlike curiosity in his eyes. As if he hadn't realized a serpent could move so quickly, and even playfully. Kai, or Bobo, was staring at Viper as if she was the most mysterious and amazing thing in the world. _Funny, kind of reminds me…_ Po blinked rapidly shook the rest of that thought from his head. "Hey buddy," he called amiably.

Just like that, the spell was broken and Bobo looked up to the others and hunched down, that fearfulness coloring his expression once more.

Po lifted his paws, though, made a point to stay where he was. "Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay. You're just fine."

Bobo swallowed hard as he locked eyes with Po. He looked away quickly, his eyes darting around to the others, hovering for a moment on Tigress, before finally ending at the ground. He nodded slowly. "Okay," he said quietly.

Po took a deep breath and moved slowly, uncrossing his legs and sliding town the front of the rock. He smiled lightly as Bobo looked up at the noise, and when he felt his paws touch the ground, he simply leaned against the rock's surface as he clasped his fingers together in front of him. "So. I figured, since we didn't get to do it properly, that we'd introduce ourselves," he said in a measured voice.

Bobo glanced away to several different spots before his eyes landed back on Po's. "Um… okay," he said in a small voice.

Po smiled again and nodded. "Okay. So, last night, I told you my name, which is Po." He shrugged lightly. He then gestured carefully to Mantis and Viper. "And you've met Master Mantis and Master Viper." They both turned to the bull, Viper nodding and Mantis saluting. He gestured over to Monkey and Crane. "And this is Master Crane, and on the branch is Master Monkey." He smiled lightly as Monkey waved spiritedly, Crane merely nodding. "And finally we have Master Tigress," he said, gesturing to the feline. His eyes caught Tigress and the tension that had blessedly disappeared came flooding back.

She was stiff and her eyes narrowed. Her tail had stopped moving and her arms were still tightly crossed. Ordinarily, she was a striking presence at any given time, but now she just appeared threatening. Which was definitely not what they were going for.

Po glanced back to Bobo. His eyes were glued to Tigress. It looked like they were having a stair down. Po swallowed his nerves and opened his mouth to say something when Bobo suddenly sniffed loudly. Po blinked and tilted his head. He watched as Bobo looked down to the thing he'd been holding. _Oh yeah, the gourd- oh wait!_ Before he could say anything, Bobo looked back to Tigress and held the gourd up.

"This is yours."

All eyes darted to Tigress who was still for a moment before blinking rapidly. One elegant eyebrow arched it's way up before she tilted her head to the side. "What?" she asked quietly.

Bobo glanced away and lowered his head a fraction. "This… this is yours… isn't it?" he responded, looking up from under his brow.

Tigress was quiet a moment longer, an ear flicking in thought. "How do you know that?" she asked.

Bobo looked away, sniffing lightly. "Because… it smells like you."

Po tightened his lips compulsively, eyes darting to Monkey at the sound of the simian's paw slapping over his mouth. While he knew what Bobo meant, the way he'd said it was undoubtedly funny to more than just himself and Monkey. His eyes then darted to Tigress, the more logical part of his mind reminding him that Tigress was certainly not in a humorous mood at the moment.

The expression on her face, however, seemed a lot less… harsh. She even appeared mildly surprised. "I see," she commented. "That's a good nose you have," she said.

If any of the other masters didn't know better, they'd have thought perhaps there was a hint of awkwardness about the random compliment.

As it was, Monkey simply took an opportunity. "Maybe he just… 'nose' it!"

Silence.

Po let out a squeak of air and cringed immediately.

That was all it took for Mantis to fall over himself laughing while Monkey chortled from his branch. Viper turned her head from Bobo, her smirk easily visible to the rest of them, while Crane ducked his head, pulling his hat further over his face with his talons.

Po covered his snout with both paws, eyes closed briefly. But curiosity got the better of him and he had to look.

The glare on Tigress' face made the whole thing even funnier.

Po snorted in his attempt to keep from laughing outright and he heard a legitimate snicker from Crane's beak. He looked over and saw Viper tightly coiled around herself with her nose ducked into her scales, her last-ditch way of trying not to succumb to laughter. He finally looked to Bobo and had to close his eyes.

The confusion on his face was comical. Not fearful, not concerned, just pure and utter "I don't know what just happened" confusion.

Po finally stood from the rock, taking a deep breath as he straightened his back and put his paws to his hips. "Okay, okay!" He shook his head and took another deep breath for good measure. "I am _really_ sorry," he said, looking to Bobo. "I guess we just needed a laugh, and it's probably kind of weird for you." He couldn't help the smile still on his face as the others started to settle down with him.

Bobo looked at him with wide eyes, holding the gourd in both hooves again. "Um… It's okay… I, uh… just never heard…" His eyes drifted downward as his expression started to mar.

Viper turned back around and leaned up. "Never heard what?"

He blinked and stood straighter at her attention, almost as if he'd forgotten she was there. "Um… I… I've never heard laughter like that except from… Gidahn. And Mel and Tai. Mika… and Tok…" His voice trailed off as his eyes drifted.

"Wait, that old yak laughs!?" Mantis blurted.

Bobo looked to him in surprise. "Yeah. Not very often, though," he answered, slouching down again. "Only when I was at their house on the edge of the village. They don't laugh when with the others," he said, looking to the ground again.

"Makes sense," Tigress suddenly said, not even batting an eyelash as everyone looked at her. Her gaze was squarely focused on Bobo.

The bull held her eyes for a moment before looking down, though, it didn't appear he looked down because he was afraid to keep staring at her. He then glanced back up, holding the gourd back out.

Tigress was still for a moment before tilting her head. She finally raised her right paw. "Toss it," she said simply.

Bobo blinked. "Toss it?"

Tigress raised a brow. "Yes. Toss it."

All eyes turned to the bull as he grew visibly nervous. "I… I don't think," he looked to the side, "I should do that…" he said so lowly it was nearly mumbling.

"Why?" Tigress asked, her voice deceptively devoid of emotion.

Bobo glanced around. "I… I always… throw too hard or not hard enough," he said quietly. "Miss Ling finally told me to stop trying to toss things, because I would have to do it twice because it didn't go far enough… or we'd lose it because we couldn't figure out where it landed."

Po blinked rapidly in the silence that followed Bobo's statements. "Well… you got some arm on you, huh!" he said, trying to keep it from getting awkward. He then looked around and scratched the back of his neck as no one responded and the bull just looked at him blankly. "Okay, bad idea…" he muttered.

"How about this," Viper suddenly spoke up. She uncoiled herself and slithered forward, holding her tail out. "I'll just take it over to Tigress for you," she said with a small smile.

Bobo looked from her to the gourd for a moment before nodding, reaching it out to her. Viper wrapped her tail around it easily and made her way to Tigress.

"Problem solved!" Monkey commented.

"So!" Mantis chirped. "Is anyone hungry?" he asked, looking to the others. "Are you hungry?" He looked to Bobo. "We could make something real quick."

Po recognized what Mantis was doing and looked to Bobo to see his reaction. Unfortunately, the behemoth looked almost immediately uncomfortable, hooves clasped in front of him as he fidgeted with his claws. "Well," Po averted his gaze to the others, "depending on how everyone feels, we may want to get some distance first." He looked to them as pointedly as he could without making it too obvious.

Monkey seemed to catch his meaning and jumped down from his branch. "Yah, we can head out while it's still light and find a good place down the path to set up camp!" he added brightly.

"That sounds like a good idea," Viper commented, sliding back to her previous position in front of Bobo before looking at him. "What do you think?"

Bobo blinked in surprise at her question, glancing around before lowering his head. "S-sure," he answered quietly.

Viper nodded to him with a small smile before looking to Po.

Po nodded himself and looked to the others. "We like to be prepared, so we just have to shoulder up and head out," he said, glancing to Bobo as he started across their little makeshift clearing. Only himself, Tigress and Monkey were carrying packs, being that it was easiest for them to do so and that they wanted the three fastest members free of restraint in an emergency. So, as he'd said, all they needed was to pick up and go. "We'll start out to the east and hang wide before turning back to get to the path," he said almost absently.

He glanced to Tigress, already at her pack. Her face was as expressionless as a brick wall. Po tightened his lips as he looked back, checking the straps on top of his pack before finally picking it up. Tigress was very good at hiding her emotions and inner thoughts, but among the five and himself, even her stoicism was as readable as an open book.

He made a mental note to keep himself between Tigress and their new charge as best he could.

Po took yet another deep breath as he shouldered his pack, tugging on the straps to make sure it was securely in place. He then turned and smiled at Bobo as warmly as he could. "Okay, are you ready?"

It was kind of an odd question, in that they all knew the bull had absolutely nothing with him. He had no possessions to try to locate, or foodstuffs to bring. He had only what he wore.

Gidahn had been very clear about that.

However, Po still wanted Bobo to feel somewhat comfortable with them, even though this was going to be awkward and strange no matter what they did about it. So, he wanted to ask, just to give the big guy a say in the matter.

He was rather glad he did.

It was obvious Bobo was uncomfortable with something. He had his head down, and his gaze was darting all around them and the clearing, as if expecting something or someone to appear out of nowhere.

"What's wrong?" Po asked without thinking. _Everything for him, no doubt,_ he thought.

Bobo glanced up briefly before looking away to the trees. He mumbled something incoherent, as if afraid to speak it aloud.

"What?" Tigress asked forcefully.

Po clenched his teeth as he saw the bull flinch, but refused to turn around to give Tigress a reproachful glance. That certainly wouldn't help her mood. Before Tigress, or anyone else, could speak further, Viper came to the rescue.

The serpent slithered closer and looked up, angling her head lightly as she kept her body low. Po recognized it was what she did when approaching scared children. He suppressed a pang of surprise as Viper spoke in a soft voice.

"You can tell us what it is. We're just confused is all. What is it that's bothering you?" she asked.

Bobo looked to her and appeared to think about it before looking down at his hooves still clasped in front of him. "I… I'm usually told to carry something…"

Po's eyebrows shot up in surprise. _He was looking for the rest of our stuff?_ he thought. He glanced around at the others and shrugged, gripping his pack straps tightly. "Well, we travel light honestly. We don't have anything else to carry. So, don't worry about it!" he said cheerfully. That didn't seem to have helped.

In fact, it seemed to have the opposite effect. The expression on his face a mix of confusion and dismay, as if he didn't know what to do if not expected to act as a burdener for them as well.

"I have an idea," Viper suddenly said. "If you want to try it," she added, looking up at Bobo with that warm smile of hers.

The bull looked at her timidly, then glanced away nervously before shrugging his shoulders in a twitching motion.

Viper's smile turned mischievous. "Okay then! Close your eyes."

Po raised a brow and looked at her pointedly. _What are you doing?_ he asked in his head. He then looked to see Bobo comply rather quickly, closing his eyes and staying rooted to the spot. Then, before he could even process her possible action, Viper moved to Bobo's foot and made a trail right up his side. His mouth fell open as he watched her do the same thing she did to him and the others, crawling up and lacing herself under his neck and around and over, draping herself loosely over his shoulders.

Bobo, for his part, had remained completely still until she'd gotten to his neck. His shoulders were now visibly stiffened, his eyes clenched tight and his hooves clasped tighter, as if waiting for her to attack him.

Po looked at Viper with wide eyes, motioning wildly with his paws as he tried to express his utter confusion.

Viper put the tip of her tail to her mouth in a shushing motion before looking to Bobo. "See? You can carry me!"

Bobo was still for several more moments. Finally, he let his breath out, and peeked an eye open. He caught sight of her immediately and seemed to relax. He opened both eyes and looked down, but while he unclasped his hooves and raised them, everyone noticed how he refrained from actually trying to touch the girth of her body with them, as if experienced with this kind of situation. He instead looked to her again, his previous consternation now replaced with concern. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Po was struck by the question. But before he could speak, Crane beat him to it.

"Are _you_ sure?" the bird asked.

Bobo looked to him as if confused by the question.

Po couldn't help a small smile. "You've had someone on your shoulders before, haven't you?"

Bobo's gaze met his and surprise marred his expression. He looked away, clasping his hooves in front of him again. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Mika would ride on my shoulders sometimes…" he said lowly, as if admitting a secret.

Po's smile widened as he remembered the little bunny on the other yak's shoulder. It looked so natural for her, as if she'd done it her whole life. He nodded. "Well, it works then, yeah?"

"Yeah, hey, me too!" Mantis suddenly said, hopping up to Bobo's shoulder with ease.

The bull flinched, but just barely, seeming more surprised with Mantis' speed than the action itself.

"Really?" Tigress sighed under her breath.

Po turned to her and made a hopeful expression. She met his eyes and seemed unamused. However, she said nothing more, merely turning and taking a step into the foliage.

"If everyone is finally settled, it's time to move," she said loudly. "We need to make the best of the daylight we have left."

Po tightened his lips and refrained from sighing himself. He'd rather take the opportunity to pull her to the side and speak to her privately, if she'd even allow it, but she was right. They were losing light the longer they stayed. He looked back with another smile. "Alright. Are we ready?" he asked brightly.

Monkey and Crane nodded, Viper hissed happily and Mantis flicked his antennae.

Bobo looked to either side of himself, his head lowering a fraction. Po waited until he looked up at him, as if feeling the panda's eyes on him. Po raised his eyebrows in silent question. Bobo seemed to understand, surprise fluttering across his face once more. He then nodded timidly.

Po smiled again and nodded back. "Okay. Let's get going."

 **XoXoX**

The sun had trekked its way along the sky to rest only an hour or so from the horizon. However, the dusk seemed darker than normal. And the lone farmhouse settled in the southwest crop fields seemed to convey the same, only a single window lit by one lantern.

Ling hadn't even bothered telling Tok to light the hearth. Light and warmth were the furthest things from her mind as she paced relentlessly in the front room. She muttered incoherently under her breath, not even sure herself if she was uttering actual words or just grinding her beak. The tension in her mind and shoulders drew tight again and she shook her head, a semblance of a growl leaving her throat. "Bloody- WHY is this _taking_ so long!?" she hollered, shaking feathered fists up to the air as she turned to make another round.

"What?" Tok asked suddenly, seated at the table holding the lantern at the window.

"You know what I mean!" Ling spouted, throwing her wings up. "Gidahn said he'd be back, he made it clear! How long does it take to do this? He acted like he knew what he was doing!"

"Do you actually believe him?" Tok asked, a frightened tinge to his voice.

"NO!" Ling yelled. "I don't believe a bloody word he said!" She turned again, her glare at the floor as she continued. "He may be big, and he may be strong, but I don't believe him. I don't believe Gidahn has ever killed someone."

Tok was quiet a moment, watching her meekly as he lowered his head. "Are you only saying that because you want it to be true?" he asked in a small voice.

Ling had been trekking back to the other wall, her back to the pig, but she heard him all the same. "Of course it's true!" she exploded, whipping around and leveling her glare to Tok. "Why else would he tell me he'd come see me after? How could he bring himself to look at either one of us after committing such an act?!" she yelled.

Tok lowered his head fully and covered his face with his hooves.

Ling snapped her beak shut as silence filled the room. She looked away as she lowered her own head, her long, slender neck slouching awkwardly. She didn't make a habit of apologizing for anything, but she wasn't unaware of when she needed to. She shook her head and opened her beak to speak.

"I hope it's true…"

Ling looked to Tok in surprise. He shook his head and his shoulders shivered. Ling straightened abruptly as she heard his breath hitch.

"It's all my fault," Tok said in a muffled voice.

Ling tilted her head and eyed the younger pig. "What do you mean?"

"I'm such an idiot," he said. He looked up to show the tears running down his face. "I should never have opened my mouth!"

Ling blinked rapidly as realization hit her. She then lowered her head and crossed her wings. "Shut up," she said quietly.

"No, don't you see!" Tok shouted. "If I had just kept my mouth shut to begin with-"

"It would have made NO difference!" Ling shouted back, cutting him off.

Tok's eyes went wide, stunned.

Ling let out that odd growl again and closed the distance between them, whacking the pig over the head, though with less force than she'd ever used before. "Don't blame yourself for their stupidity!" she shot. "You may tell tall tales, but the point is they're tales, just talk. I can see it, Gidahn sees it, anyone with a right mind in their head sees it, we know you're full of it!" She glared at him. "Just because you talk too much and even tell stories that are questionable at best doesn't mean they had to take you seriously. And what about any of those stories could have provoked this, eh?" she questioned. "Think about it." She tugged one of his ears back to make him look at her fully. "Think about whatever you said," Ling ordered. "Now tell me, did you say _anything_ that should have led them to believe they needed to act like a mob, act so horribly?"

Tok simply stared at her, eyes still wet with tears. His gaze darted away, eyes unfocused as he thought. "I… I don't…" He grew quiet.

Ling let go of his ear and watched as his eyes hit the floor. "No," she answered for him. "I don't even have to know what you said to know that wasn't the case," she said, speaking without the usual gruffness to her voice. She crossed her arms again and looked away, her gaze darting to the darkened kitchen, the large empty bowl on the top shelf catching her eye immediately. She looked away quickly, feathery brows drawing down as she summoned her anger. "No. They were looking for an excuse," she ground out.

She turned and started walking again. "It wouldn't have mattered what happened, just so long as it involved him. They never liked him here, never! They were always looking for something to blame on him, something to fault him for!"

Tok wiped his eyes as he watched her continue her restless pacing. "You… you really think so?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes!" Ling shot out. "I may have wanted to throw him in the river when he first showed up here looking like a drunken idiot, but when we realized he was just a dumb oaf, what did I do? I took him in! And not a single one of them wanted to help! We had _nothing_ , you remember!" she hollered, whipping back around to look at Tok.

Tok sat up and nodded. "I do."

Ling lowered her eyes, knowing her glare was harsh enough. "No one had anything back then, but even when…" Ling shut her eyes. The stinging sensation almost as infuriating as this whole happenstance. "They _never_ …" She felt her shoulders tense again as her head started to droop, her wings shaky fists at her sides.

She heard Tok grow still, then heard the feint rustle of movement. "Ma-"

KLANK!

They both shot to attention, heads craned in the direction of the front door. The noise continued and was accompanied by the telltale sound of hooves on wood.

Ling felt hot fury boil in her blood.

But, for once, Tok moved faster than her. He was at the door in a flash and had it opened before their visitor had even managed to knock. In the fading light, only Gidahn's silhouette was visible. For a moment, it seemed like Tok wouldn't let him through. But he finally moved to the side, gesturing for the yak to cross the threshold with haste.

Gidahn complied, gaze lowered as he entered. Tok shut the door quickly and fastened every lock before walking around the large yak, glancing up to him as he clasped his hooves together. The younger pig then dropped his eyes to the floor as he made his way back to the table.

Ling remained quiet, part of her aggravated that Gidahn was being so quiet and keeping his gaze so averted. Finally, he looked up, meeting her eyes.

Ling felt an immediate, intense urge to charge the yak and do horrible things to his face. She event twitched forward just a fraction. But she clenched her fists and grit her beak, staring the yak down with all the venom she could muster.

Gidahn only wasted a few more moments of silence, taking the time to heave a heavy sigh. Finally, he spoke.

"The deed is done."

His rich voice rang through the room like a bell in a temple. But it hardly carried with it the calm and serenity of such a sound. And it served only to stoke the fire of Ling's anger.

"You're _lying!_ " she spat viciously.

Gidahn tilted his head, that infuriatingly stoic expression not even phased. "I do not make a habit of lying, Ling."

"That doesn't mean you _won't!_ " she argued. "What did you do to my bull?!" She stood straighter, stretching her neck out and gaining all the height she had. Not that she could contend with the yak, but she would be damned if she would be lied to in her own house.

Gidahn heaved another sigh. "As I said. He is gone from here… forever."

Ling let out that growl again, tilting her head down as she glared daggers at the male. "That does _not_ answer the _question!_ " she shouted.

Gidahn narrowed his eyes. "And what kind of answer are you looking for?" he asked. "Do you want me to describe in detail what it would have been like? Do you want me to tell you of the look of fright, the sound of the choked last breath, and the smell of blood as it soaks into the earth, taking the last moments of life with it?" He spoke in one long breath as his mask of stoicism cracked at the edges, a metal tinge to his voice as if his voice itself was a blade pressed to the side of her neck.

But while his emotion bubbled to the surface, and his voice rang so sharply, Ling felt her own anger start to fade as her mind clung to several words in particular. She felt her shoulders droop. She felt her expression soften. She knew her eyes were betraying her, even before she ventured to speak.

"'What it would have been like'…" she whispered. The stinging returned, and she couldn't even bring herself to feel angry. She clenched her eyes shut as she lowered her head. "You didn't… you didn't kill him…"

Tok's eyes darted from Ling to Gidahn as his breath halted.

Gidahn's gaze remained steady. But only for a moment. He closed his own eyes and lowered his head. He seemed to melt downward, and suddenly he didn't look like the strong, stoic elder that held authority within his very stance, but a person who's years had crept up without warning. He opened his eyes again, his mask fading away as he looked to the she-goose in compliance. "… no… Ling. I did no such thing," he conceded in a mere whisper.

Ling was still a moment as she tried everything she could. It seemed her iron grip on her emotions suddenly wasn't strong enough. She shook her head, and opened her eyes, refusing to acknowledge the ache in her temples. "What… what did you do?" she asked, inwardly cursing the croak in her voice.

Gidahn was still and quiet as he regarded her, his expression uncharacteristically open and somber. He looked down and moved carefully, dropping to one knee, and then the other, before sitting fully, his right hoof on his thigh as he held his staff still upright in his left. He then looked back up, meeting her eyes with his. "I sent him into the care of the strangers," he finally answered.

Ling clenched her fists again as anger came flooding back. She tensed, unable to move for a brief moment before she suddenly charged, running to the yak in seconds to jump and kick at him. However, a simple move of his large arm and he blocked her with ease without even a flinch. She resorted to hitting at him, her wings batting uselessly against his forearm as she heard incoherent noise filling the room.

She realized it was her own strangled sobs.

Ling finally stopped and closed her eyes, sinking to the ground in front of the yak as she lowered her head, covering her face as if ashamed. She almost was.

It had been more than a decade since she'd cried even a single tear.

Gidahn watched her outbreak almost like a father a distraught child. He looked up to see Tok halfway to them, having stopped when Ling had finally sunk to the floor. Tok's gaze caught his and he could see the conflicted emotions in the poor pig's eyes. Gidahn looked back to Ling, now hunched just next to his knee. He took a deep breath and did the only thing he could. He reached out, his large hoof grazing her shoulders carefully.

As soon as he made contact, she lifted her head. " _Why!?_ Why would you hand him over to them? They started all this!" she cried out. "They'll finish what they started!" she said, her voice cracking with the weight of her anguish, eyes already bloodshot and cheeks and beak soaked with the tears that she'd held back so stubbornly.

Gidahn had to admit, the sight of the hardened, stubborn, loud, and even occasionally mean-natured she-goose reduced to sobbing was one he thought he'd never actually see. He smiled, though he felt it appeared perhaps more rueful than he'd intended. "They will, Ling. They will indeed finish what they started," he answered solemnly. "But their intent is not necessarily his death." He resisted the urge to bite his lip as he felt heat in his own eyes. "Though, I would indeed be lying, if I told you I knew what would come of his time spent with them."

Ling shook her head as she gripped the topmost robe draped over his knee. "I don't understand," she said, clenching the fabric tightly as she looked up into his eyes. "That still doesn't answer why," she ground out, her voice pained as if she'd sustained a physical wound.

Gidahn allowed himself more leeway and gripped her shoulder more securely. "Would there have been any other way?" he asked quietly, keeping her gaze earnestly. "They didn't start anything, Ling. You know that. They only catalyzed it." He smiled that rueful smile again. "It was a miracle it happened this way. Otherwise, there would have been no choice but to kill him… or send him to fend for himself. And in his state, he likely wouldn't last a week."

"What do you mean by 'his state'?" Ling asked, shaking her head. "What does _that_ mean?"

Gidahn felt a spark of amazement as he kept himself from letting out a laugh. _Even being so distraught, she's as sharp as a knife,_ he thought. "They know him Ling. You've deduced that in some way, even without speaking it. That means there is more to him than we know, even after five years." Gidahn tilted his head down, eyes never leaving hers. "You know there is more to him. You've known ever since he told you they called him by another name." Gidahn couldn't help a pause, but couldn't fathom keeping his next words to himself. "You've known… for far longer than that."

Ling's eyes went wide as she held his gaze. Then, the tears that had seemed to slow were suddenly flooding back and she was hunched over again, almost falling over his knee as another round of painful sobs wracked her body.

Gidahn blinked slowly as he dropped all pretense. He took a moment to lower his staff to the ground. He then moved himself closer and wrapped his arm around the elder she-goose, pulling her close into his side. He was only mildly surprised that she didn't fight back, though he was quite surprised when she clung to his robes and buried her beak into the fabric, her heart bleeding out in a torrent of tears and broken breaths.

He was so lost in the surreal moment that he didn't even notice Tok until the young pig touched his arm. Gidahn looked and wasn't at all taken aback by the tears streaming down the youth's face. Tok glanced up for a moment, his tiny hooves pushing against Gidahn's arm. Gidahn acquiesced, lifting his arm away so that the farm hand could do exactly what he himself was doing.

Tok, without any hesitation, leaned in close and wrapped his arms around Ling, holding her from behind in a warm embrace as she clung to Gidahn.

Gidahn lowered his arm back, holding the both of them to him as he felt his own eyes sting. He couldn't help a small smile, however. He looked to the floorboards as he felt Ling take a shaky breath. "Thank you… for trusting me to see what I knew to be true," he said quietly.

Ling sniffled loudly as she buried her face deeper into Gidahn's robe. "And what would that be?" she asked in a shaky, muffled voice.

"Your secret." Gidahn's eyes darted to Tok's, the young pig's blue eyes still wet with his own tears. Gidahn smiled softly, his grip tightening around them both. "… that under all your layers… you hide a loving heart."

 **XoXoX**

The journey out of the trees and around the outskirts of the village had been easier than expected. Mainly because the issue of maybe seeing a villager or two did not arise. That, and the terrain just past the trees seemed to be well worn and clear of the foliage and shrubbery that had needed to be trekked through within the trees. In fact, the utter dryness that existed outside the boundary of the trees only served to remind Po and the Five of just how odd the village really was.

However, they all couldn't help but notice the wonder and surprise of their new charge. Viper had taken it upon herself to ask him if he'd ever seen the outskirts before. His answer had been a quiet "No". They all fell rather silent at that.

After only an hour and a half or so, they reached the path. From there it was straightforward enough. Only one pause had been taken, and that had been due to Bobo himself looking back at the trees. He hadn't wasted any time, however, lowering his head to follow just behind the rest, Viper and Mantis still on his shoulders.

They'd continued on with only the briefest small-talk, like offhanded comments about the weather and if they'd run into any Vipers along the trail. However, the silence that seemed to make its home between them wasn't as uncomfortable as it could have been. Most glances to the bull in their midst revealed curious eyes looking about like a child seeing the world for the first time. That in and of itself was disarming.

Then Viper started telling him about other, more visually interesting parts of China.

Bobo had a quiet and wide-eyed way of listening, which made every small fact or story Viper would recount seem like a fantastical tale. To someone who, for the better part of their knowledge, had spent his whole life in a small village with small minds, Viper's tellings probably seemed magical.

Before long night started to creep up the horizon, and they had no choice but to find a good place to camp. They took up a spot near some rock outcroppings, angled away from the path just to be careful. They went about making the meal they'd spoken of earlier, only to be surprised at Bobo's eating hardly any of the portion given to him. However, no one asked about it, each of them unknowingly echoing each other's thoughts that he may be more nervous than his demeanor let on.

Tigress took a deep breath in through her nose and let it out slowly through her mouth. She'd jumped up on top of the tallest rock to keep watch for a while, neither asking for the opportunity nor being asked to take it. In reality, she wanted to be alone as much as watchful.

While she felt far calmer than she had several hours ago, she still had that nagging feeling of unease in the back of her mind. Could she be blamed for it? No. And she knew better than to think her teammates would do so. Though, part of her was confused, perhaps even envious, of how easily the rest seemed to accept the bull's presence among them. She'd thought it through several times during their walk. It was possible the other four just didn't feel the same way due to not having the more prolonged experience she had; having to watch as they were taken one by one and really not being able to do anything. Having to watch as he near defeated Po in battle. Having that gut-twisting feeling as she watched the tide turn for Po in the Spirit Realm. They hadn't had that experience. Though, she'd conceded that theirs was just as bad. Perhaps worse, having heard a couple of them recount it. That being said, it still didn't make sense to her that they'd be so relaxed about this whole thing.

 _Maybe it's just their way of handling the situation,_ Tigress thought, keen eyes scanning the horizon.

She'd already put it out of her head that they trusted Po more than she did. She knew they all trusted him, herself included, with their lives. No, her faith in Po was just as strong as theirs. Perhaps, she simply didn't trust the situation.

She took another calming breath through her nose, allowing her eyes to drift shut for a moment. The weariness of the day was finally catching up to her. She briefly considered sleeping up atop the rock. She'd done similar before, falling asleep in a meditating position and fluttering between sleeping and waking. But that usually didn't end well unless she was in a peaceful environment having peaceful thoughts. Knowing her current mindset, she'd get very cranky very fast. She felt the corners of her lips quirk up, memories of Po trying to sooth her cranky, sleep-deprived nerves when the rare occurrence reared its unhappy head. _He's got enough on his shoulders,_ she thought. _He needs us all at our best._

Tigress opened her eyes, feeling suddenly a lot less uneasy. She took one last deep breath of fresh night air and stood. She hopped down the rock face in near silence and walked around the edge back towards camp. Rounding the corner, her eyes darted up. She promptly froze.

Bobo was sitting cross-legged, back against the rock. His head was aimed up to the sky, his expression looking tired but his gaze intense. She ventured a glance and saw the stars looking especially bright tonight, the waning crescent moon close to the eastern horizon. She looked back to the bull. He didn't move. He didn't blink. He simply sat there.

Tigress narrowed her eyes, watching as he sat against the rock, aimlessly picking at pebbles between his crossed legs, face continually aimed to the stars.

"What are you doing?" she asked. He looked to her with a start. She stood tall, leveling her gaze to his.

He swallowed nervously. "I… I couldn't sleep," he answered.

"Why is that?" she asked, her voice sounding cold even to her own ears.

He looked down and angled his head away. His expression seemed to be fluttering with confusion and discomfort, as if he were thinking and finding it hard to.

She huffed lightly through her nose, forcing patience over herself.

She waited. And waited... and waited.

Aggravation finally started to spike he lowered his head, his eyes fading from her view. She suppressed a growl and started towards him. "I don't appreciate being ignor-"

He jumped at her approach and leaned away, his arm raising to cover his face as wide eyes met her glare. She stopped abruptly and he froze in place, his eyes glued to her. She recognized well what was held in them.

Fear.

Her aggravation died instantly. Her eyebrows drew down in confusion. "I…" she took a step back, "I wasn't going to hit you." she said quietly. _He can't really be…_

Her thoughts halted as Bobo lowered his head, his eyes still glued to her, like a fearful child. He sat back in his original position and slouched into himself. "You tried before," he said softly.

Tigress' mind repeated the event from two days ago, when she had moved to attack him. She still remembered the look of terror on his face before having been caught midair by Po. She took a slow inward breath. _Alright… I'll give him this one,_ she thought, knowing very well how ferocious she could be, and hence, how frightening she could appear. Though, the large bull before her being so fearful was still a cause for headache.

She kept eye contact with Bobo as she slowly made to sit, crossing her legs and clasping her paws in her lap. "I'm not going to hurt you," she said carefully, using a tone she rarely ever had need for. "So, talk to me. Why can't you sleep?" she asked.

His gaze never left her, and while his demeanor didn't change much, his features seemed to smooth over at the action of her sitting. "I've…" he finally took his eyes from hers, looking to the dirt just in front of his legs, "…never been out of the village before."

Tigress wasn't surprised. But she was surprised, considering his wonder from earlier, as to why it was an issue for him now. However, she didn't want to inundate him with questions he wasn't ready to answer. So, she settled for just one: "Why?"

His eyes remained on the ground. "I can't… couldn't leave," he answered quietly.

Tigress felt her eyebrows twitch. "And why is that?" she asked, unable to hide a tinge of confusion in her voice.

He glanced up to her briefly before his eyes hit the ground again. "… you need things… and money to leave… go places." He plucked a pebble from the ground and started turning it over in his claws. "I don't have any."

Tigress' brows drew down. "They never paid you." It was a statement more than a question, being that they had already heard of his treatment by the villagers from Viper and Mantis.

"They won't- wouldn't… let me leave anyway," he uttered quietly, tired eyes focused on the pebble in his grasp.

Tigress felt her tail twitch reflexively. "Why is that?" she asked slowly, narrowing her eyes.

He looked up to her, but only held her gaze for a moment before his eyes fell once more. He stopped turning the pebble over in his claws and closed his hooves. "I'm not… supposed to," he murmured. "That's what they say, anyway…" His gaze grew unfocused, as if looking at something that wasn't there. "Miss Ling would always get mad when I told her they said that. She would never tell me why."

Tigress' eyebrows drew down and she tilted her head to the side. She was quiet a moment as she tried to find reason in his words. But she couldn't. "I don't understand," she finally admitted. "Why would they tell you that you aren't supposed to leave?" she asked.

Bobo looked up at that, he eyes darting to hers. He bit the inside of his lip as he looked away. "I'm… a gift from the ancestors. I'm only here for them, so… I can't leave because that's not my purpose… that's what they would always say to me," he explained, his eyes drifting down again.

Tigress' felt her face mar in surprise. _"… a gift from the ancestors'?_ she thought. She then remembered the stories the villagers told when questioned about their village, about why it was so green and the crops so healthy. A sudden tingling sensation fluttered across her shoulders as she started putting the pieces together and she could hardly believe the story they were constructing. "And why… why would they say that?" she asked carefully. "Why would they call you a gift from the ancestors? Why would they say you were put there for them?"

Bobo's gaze rose to meet hers again. "Because I make things grow," he answered quietly.

Tigress had to tighten her mental grip on her self-control to keep from doing something… well, very Po-like if she were honest with herself. The urge to jump up and shout "I knew it!" was very strong and usually not so hard to fight. She clenched her teeth however, and forced a deep breath of calm as she held the bull's gaze. She glanced away a moment as she collected her wits enough to form a proper sentence before looking back and tilting her head forward. "You make things grow," she repeated. "Like, for instance, the grass? And the trees? And the crops?"

Bobo nodded. Not proudly, or arrogantly, nor as if he were ashamed of it. Simply an affirmation, as if this was completely normal. "When I sit too long in one place, or lay in the grass at night, it's much taller than it was before," he said, looking to the ground. "In the morning, there will probably be grass here." He looked to his hooves and opened them, spinning the pebble around with his claws again. "Everywhere I go, things grow," he said quietly. "And since I've been in the village, everything has grown in it and to the trees around it."

Tigress could hardly believe what she was hearing. But part of her knew this made so much sense. But even though it made sense… it _didn't_ make sense either.

 _It's Chi,_ Tigress thought. _It's Chi that's making this place so vibrant, making everything grow and it's coming from him. But… not on purpose?_ She felt her tail twitching with the excitedness of her thoughts. _He doesn't seem to know how he's doing this, so how is he doing it at all? How do you just… release Chi without meaning to? And so much of it that it supports a whole village?_ She looked up at Bobo, still with his head lowered and eyes focused on the pebble _. I wonder…_ She bit the inside of her lip. "Do you… do you know how you make things grow?" she asked as innocently as she could manage.

Bobo didn't look at her, but he did shake his head as his expression seemed to take on a saddened tone. "No. They don't know, Miss Ling doesn't know... no one knows. The others say we aren't supposed to, that's what makes it a gift. Miss Ling always gets mad when they say that, too," he said, his voice trailing off.

Soberness started to creep back into Tigress' mind as he finished speaking. She narrowed her eyes again, something about his words striking a chord in her. "Miss Ling… the she-goose. Why would she get so mad about what they said?" she asked.

Bobo's demeanor remained the same. His eyes stayed rooted to the ground as he aimlessly moved the pebble through his claws. "I don't know. She would never tell me," he said quietly. "But one time… she did-" he stopped abruptly and tightened his lips, lowering his head.

Tigress blinked. "What's the matter?" she asked as she eyed him cautiously.

His eyes darted in her direction, then away just as quickly. "She… told me never to tell," he said in a small whisper, like a child afraid of parental reprimand.

Tigress felt her brows raise in surprise. She glanced away, her eyes alighting on the sleeping forms of her cohorts. "Well," she looked to him carefully, "everyone else is asleep," she whispered. "And Miss Ling isn't here… and I won't tell," she added. Part of her felt awful stupid for talking to this full-grown bull, sorted past aside, as if he were akin to Lei-Lei's age. But as his eyes slowly moved to meet hers, she couldn't help the satisfaction filling her chest as the tactic appeared to work.

He looked to her innocently and seemed to consider her words. "You promise?" he asked.

Tigress forced herself to keep from biting her lip as a very fond memory of Lei-Lei floated through her mind. One where the young cub had imparted her "most secretest secret" but only after she'd promised to never tell anyone.

Tigress took a deep breath and gave a small smile, surprising even herself with how easily it slipped out. "I promise," she affirmed.

Bobo looked down, turning his head away. "She… she got _really_ mad one time. After an old pig hit me with a farm ax. She started shouting and yelling after she bandaged my leg. She said they, the rest of the villagers, were ungrateful peasants who deserve to starve in the deserts." He slouched into himself further, balling up against the rock. "She called them a lot of bad names… and said they should rot."

Tigress raised a brow high. Knowing the old she-goose he was speaking of, she could only imagine the vocabulary that had been uttered. "I see," she commented quietly. Then, realization suddenly spread through her mind. "She took great care of you… didn't she?" She looked up to see his reaction.

He chewed on his lip, eyes averted as he closed his hooves around the pebble again.

Tigress felt a tinge in her stomach as she saw the bull's eyes start to look shiny in the lowlight provided by the stars. She sat up straighter and took a deep breath. "It's okay. We don't have to talk anymore," she said softly. He was still a moment before finally looking up to meet her gaze once more. His child-like demeanor hit her again and she had to clench her teeth as she fought off instincts that she'd rather not display.

Tigress smiled a small smile and nodded her head. "We should get some sleep. We're both tired."

Bobo nodded slowly. He unclasped his hooves again and placed the pebble back where he'd found it.

Tigress tilted her head, slightly confused but also amused by the action. She uncrossed her legs and moved to stand, keeping her eyes on him as she did so. He didn't move. She remained still for a few moments before taking another deep breath. "Goodnight… Bobo," she said softly.

He glanced up to her before his eyes darted to the ground again. He clasped his hooves in his lap, fiddling with his claws. "Goodnight," he responded, his voice quiet.

Tigress spared only another moment to eye him before finally turning and heading to the spot next to the others that had been left for her. She sat and chose to lean against the rock instead of actually laying down. She glanced to Po's prone form close to her and a small smirk colored her face. _He's such a heavy sleeper,_ she thought in amusement.

No sooner had the thought rolled through her mind, did the current events crash back in after it: Po's and Shifu's nightmares, Po's trip to the Spirit Realm, Oogway's message, his box and his riddle, this journey.

Finding Kai.

Tigress flicked an ear as she heard movement, and glanced to her side without moving her head. Bobo was adjusting himself. He moved to lay longways and then suddenly rolled onto his stomach, folding an arm underneath himself and crossing the other under his neck. She raised a brow as she examined the position. It looked extremely uncomfortable. But as she looked on further, she noticed how his back was straight, his neck rested in the crook of his elbow, and his horns were sticking up unhindered; not nudged against the rock or the ground if he perhaps laid on his back or side.

Tigress took her eyes away and stared off into the distance. She felt her eyes start to grow heavy as she mentally recounted the conversation she'd just had with the bull. _I need to tell Po,_ she thought sleepily. _I don't know exactly what this means right now… but he'll need to know._ She took a deep breath and finally allowed her eyelids to drop.

She listened to the quiet sounds of her teammates' breathing, and the subtle swish of the bull's tail every now and then before finally falling into blissful sleep.

 **XoXoX**

A small shiver ran over the fur of his arms and spine. He groaned and stretched, flicking his ears lightly. He really didn't like cold breezes in the morning.

Po yawned wide, stretching out further as he rolled onto his back. He ran his fingers into his eyes before blinking them open to the bright morning sun. _Really bright sun,_ he thought sleepily. He rose up on his arms and shook his head, trying to cast away sleep's hold. _Huh, that's odd…_ Po sat up straight and raised his arms, stretching them all the way up and smiling lightly as he heard his joints pop. _That was a really good night's sleep._

Po lowered his arms again and leaned on his paws, looking to the rising sun in the east as he heard the others start to shuffle about. He thought back to the last time he'd had a truly restful sleep. It had probably been well over a month. Not that his nightmares had exploded onto the scene and taken over every night, but when the frequency increased, so did the confusion and worry. And trying to fall asleep like that never worked well for him.

"Po."

Po jolted lightly and turned around, looking to see Tigress standing tall behind him.

"I was wondering if I'd have to wake you up," she said, letting slip that slight smile of hers.

Po smiled back and took a breath to speak when something about her demeanor made him pause.

Tigress looked… excited. Well, as excited as Tigress ever appeared to look. Her eyes were bright, and her tiny smile looked contained, as if she were trying not to grin. And her crossed arms didn't look relaxed, more like an attempt to keep herself from moving around, like she was trying to keep from jumping to and fro. Only himself, the Five and Shifu could read her subtleties so well, and they were certainly painting a picture.

Po blinked himself back to the present moment and grinned. "Well, good morning to you too!"

Tigress nodded, that slight contained smile still ever-present.

"Anybody hungry!" Monkey suddenly called. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving."

Po grinned as he rolled to his feet. "Isn't that my line?" he asked.

"I know right!" Mantis chimed, gesturing between Po and Monkey. "Did you two switch stomachs in your sleep or something?"

Crane snickered, rubbing a wingtip into his eyes sleepily. "That was a bad one, Mantis, and you know it."

Mantis chuckled and shrugged. "Hey, it's early! I deserve credit for trying. Right Viper?" He turned to his right and his grin promptly dropped. "Hey, where is she?"

Everyone's eyes shot to the spot Viper had been in the night before; utterly vacant and with no sign of a trail leading away.

Monkey scratched his chin and looked to Po. "Is she not with you?" he asked.

Po looked up and immediately started turning on the spot, trying to look at his back and under his arms. "Well, she usually ends up with me, but I didn't feel her this morning," he said, trying not to sound concerned.

Everyone knew Viper, being cold blooded, sought out the warmest body to sleep on top of during their excursions that happened to fall during colder seasons. Never on purpose, so they had discovered. She would never really remember having done it during the night, so it was chalked up to instinct taking over during her half-asleep state. Not that they really minded.

But now, she seemed to have simply disappeared.

"She didn't end up with you either, Tigress?" Monkey asked, hopping onto the boulder they'd been against.

Tigress shook her head. "No. She usually ends up with Po unless I'm closer, but Po was right next to her this time… weren't you?" she asked.

Po looked to Tigress and bit his lip. "I mean, I knocked right out, but I could have sworn she was right there," he gestured to the still empty spot next to his sleeping matt.

"Oh wait," Monkey said, perking up. "That was where your pack was, I picked it up a few minutes ago…" he stated, his voice trailing.

"She was right her next to it, though," Mantis added, "I remember her being here on the other side."

Po's shoulders slumped as he stared at the area with utter incredulity. "Then… where could she have-" His voice cut off as he looked to the far end of their makeshift camp. His eyes went wide. "… oh…"

Tigress stepped out from behind him. "Oh what?" she asked, looking at him in confusion. She then followed his gaze. She stiffened and her eyes went wide as well, a rarity for her to be sure.

The others followed their gazes curiously… and promptly mimicked their teammates' postures.

At the foot of the larger boulder was their charge, Bobo, laying on his back with one arm crossed under the nape of his neck and the other splayed to the side. Curled into loose loops and tucked snugly between his chin and chest was their missing master Viper. Both of them seemed to still be comfortably sleeping despite the others' voices, and it appeared Viper's weight on his neck was hardly a deterrent to the bull's breathing.

The others stared for several moments, but eventually the shock wore off and they started looking to one another.

"What do we do?" Crane whispered in concern.

"We probably shouldn't do anything," Monkey whispered down from his position still on the other boulder. "We don't want to startle them."

"Well, we gotta do something," Mantis insisted quietly. "When he wakes up with her there, he's probably gonna freak out."

"He hasn't freaked out yet," Monkey retorted in a low hiss. "You'd think he'd feel it."

"Maybe not," Tigress mused, her voice as quiet as theirs, crossing her arms and putting a paw to her chin. "He may just be too heavy to notice that little extra weight."

"On his neck, though?" Crane pointed out.

Po bit his lip as he thought about the situation. He crossed his arms and rested his chin to his palm, looking intently at the two sleeping individuals. While he wondered just how Viper managed to go that far while half asleep instead of just next to her, he wasn't sure, but now they had a dilemma to be sure. Would Bobo freak out when waking up to find here there? Would she freak out if they tried to grab her off of him? Would he freak out if he woke up during the attempt, seeing them looming over him? Po sighed and rubbed his fingers into his eyes. He then jolted lightly and snapped his fingers. "I got it!" he hissed.

The others looked to him instantly with curious and hopeful gazes.

"Monkey can hop on the boulder over there and dangle down far enough to rub the tip of his tail over Viper's nose to wake her up!" he whispered all in one breath.

Monkey looked from him to the boulder and back.

"You just came up with that on the spot?" Mantis asked incredulously.

Po looked to all of them still staring at him then shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, it's better to wake her up first, cuz she's less likely to freak out. But we gotta do it without waking him up, otherwise… well, yeah."

Crane readjusted his hat and shook his head, a barely contained smile visible on his beak. "I swear, Po. You are one amazing panda."

Po grinned. " _The_ amazing panda," he said with a wink. "Now, Monkey, up and at it!" he ordered in a quiet voice.

Monkey grinned and shook his head, leaping to the other boulder with ease. He looked around and inched down only a little bit, his long tail making the distance easily. The others watched with bated breath as he maneuvered his tail like an artisan, finding the nub of Viper's nose poking out from one of her loops with ease. He carefully brushed his fur over her scales, flicking side to side as if brushing debris from her face.

Almost instantly the serpent sniffled and huffed, then moved, finally unburying her face and lifting her head high, sleepy eyes darting to find the source of the disturbance. "Monkey!"

The simian quickly put a finger to his mouth in a shushing motion and pointed down.

Viper shook her head in confusion, then tilted it side to side quickly, the serpentine equivalent of blinking eyes rapidly to clear the blurriness from sleepy vision. "What are you-" her voice died as she looked to where he was pointing. Her eyes widened and her back scales bristled. Her eyes shot to the main part of camp and she caught the others staring at her.

Po made a shushing motion as well before gesturing with his paws for her to crawl off and over to them.

Viper closed her mouth tight and looked to the bull's face. "Oops," she whispered. She took a deep breath and started moving her coils carefully. She'd moved them slowly, but sure enough, that was all it had taken.

Bobo started moving, stretching out sleepily and bringing his free arm over. He scratched at his jaw and moved his hoof downward. His eyes flew open as his claws hit Viper's scales. The camp grew deathly silent as the two locked eyes.

Viper was quiet a moment before smiling sheepishly. "Um… good morning?"

Bobo stared.

"Gueh!" He jolted up, launching Viper away. She landed expertly and moved into a defensive stance as the bull backed himself to the rock face holding his arms around his shoulders and neck.

"Whoa, whoa, you're okay!" Po called, holding his paws up.

"I'm sorry!" Viper called, suddenly dropping stance and coiling around herself instead. "I should have warned you!"

"Warned me?!" Bobo said with a pang of fright in his voice as he balled up further.

"Yes, I'm so, so sorry!" Viper said, lowering her head but keeping eye contact. "I completely forgot."

"Forgot what?" Bobo asked with incredulity.

Viper shook her head, bring her tail to her forehead. "You, you know how vipers are, right? You know we're cold blooded?"

Bobo blinked then stared. It grew quiet again as the others watched. The abrupt wake from sleep apparently wasn't slowing his mind as much as they'd expected, as the expression of fear and the tenseness of his body started to melt away nearly as fast as they had shown up.

Bobo finally looked to the ground as he scrunched his eyebrows together, his shoulders slouching as he let his hooves fall down his arms. "You aren't warm by yourselves, so you travel in packs to keep warm." He looked to her.

Viper looked surprised but nodded with a small smile. "Yes. And when we are solitary, we seek out warmth. Like the sun's light, or a fire. Or…" She paused purposely and lowered her head, eyes trained on him, like a teacher giving a child instruction.

Bobo blinked. "Or a warm person."

Viper smiled kindly and nodded. "That's right. I… heh," she finally took her eyes away to glance at Po, "I usually end up sleeping on top of Po or Tigress, because they are the largest warm bodies in our group. But," she looked back to him, "I guess, I was drawn to you last night because you are larger than the both of them."

Bobo looked at her with wide eyes as he finally seemed to relax completely letting his legs fall into a crossed stance as he clasped his hooves in his lap. "Oh."

"I'm sorry," Viper said again. "I didn't mean to scare you," she finished with an apologetic smile.

Bobo looked away, as if not expecting an apology. "It's… okay. I shouldn't have jumped."

"It's understandable," Viper said softly.

"No," Bobo said, lowering his head. "I… I've had someone small sleep with me before. I should have known better."

Viper perked up and looked around at the others, all looking equally as surprised. She looked back and took the opportunity to slither closer, coiling around herself again and lowering to the ground. "Oh? May I ask who?"

Bobo glanced to her then back to the ground. "… Tok. When he was sick, Miss Ling said he needed someone warm to sleep next to, so we could break his fever… and Mika. When I would spend the night at Gidahn's house."

Po couldn't help his eyes going wide. _That must be why he went along with it while half-asleep,_ he thought.

Viper smiled again and nodded. "I see. Well, it was a mistake on both our parts then."

Bobo looked to her timidly and nodded back.

"Now that that's over with, how about breakfast!" Monkey said, still atop the rock.

Bobo jolted lightly and looked up at the simian, who giggled at his reaction.

"Monkey!" Viper hissed lightly.

Po smiled and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "That went better than- wha?" He jolted as his shoulder was grabbed and he was pulled back from the scene. He looked to see Tigress guiding him around the boulder away from the others. "Tigress, what's-"

"While they're distracted," Tigress cut him off, turning and gripping his shoulders, "I have something to tell you."

Po felt concern swirl into his stomach. "What's wrong?"

Tigress let out that small smile again. "Nothing's wrong. I just _really_ need to tell you what I found out last night," her smile turned into a smirk, "from my conversation with _Bobo_."

Po stared. He then blinked and suddenly realized what was going on.

Tigress had discovered something important.

Po grinned. "Lay it on me."

 **XxXxX**

* * *

 **Thank you for the read! Have a good day or night and a wonderful time~**


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Kung Fu Panda, nor am I in any way affiliated with it's creators. All belongs to DreamWorks.**

 **I only claim the storyline and OC's.**

 **Author's note below:**

 **Apologies for the very delayed update. Life likes to throw us some curveballs sometimes and it's hard to dig in and do what you love.**

 **Regardless, hopefully the updates should be more regular again.**

 **That being said, please enjoy~ ;)**

* * *

 **Chapter 7~***

The morning light was bright. Happy chatter could be heard wafting through the air. The relaxed bustle from the streets far below could also be heard. Usually these noises created a sense of piece in and of themselves.

But today, it seemed the normal ambiance was not good enough.

Shifu paced back and forth in the training hall, ears twitching minutely every few seconds. He had made a point to listen to the sounds his sandals and staff made as he walked, trying to use those as a distraction. This method was just barely working.

He was nervous.

It was not a normal occurrence for him, but he felt he could hardly be blamed. When his students had departed a week ago, he had been left with a sense of ease. As if all the answers would come as a result. But as the days had worn on, he could feel anxiety poking at the back of his stomach and creeping up his spine. While the nightmares had blessedly come to a stop, he almost wished he had those back. At least the anxiety went away when he woke up… for the most part.

But now he was left trying to deal with it in the waking world. Admittedly, he'd never been very good at it. He had always had Oogway to rely on to help him through it, to be the calm in the storm of his mind. And while he'd learned a great deal over the last several years, it seemed old habits died hard.

Shifu stopped his pacing for a moment and stood straight. He tightened his grip on his staff and brought his free arm around his front, holding his palm up and paw horizontal to his waist. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath in through his nose, counting slowly to ten as he did so. He then let it out through his mouth counting in the same slow pace backwards from ten to one. He'd had to do it several times already today. It only forced a calmness over him for a few minutes before the nervousness took hold once more. Shifu stood still for several moments, allowing the sounds of the palace grounds to tickle at his ears thought the thick walls of the training hall. He finally opened his eyes and sighed lowly. "Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever be as calm as you were, Oogway," he said quietly.

Shifu gripped his staff with both paws and looked in the direction of the Master Garden. While the Sacred Peach Tree held more memories, it always seemed more appropriate to look upon Oogway's statue when remembering him. And, looking upon the statue's face made it seem a little more like Oogway wasn't really gone. He let out a scoff as another memory floated through his mind. The memory of the giant, carved rock flying through the air and crashing down and breaking to pieces.

Shifu shook his head, quickly dispelling that particular memory. It was of no use to him right now.

He huffed and looked to the light angling in through the training hall's upper windows. It wasn't even noon yet. Not knowing details, he supposed he shouldn't be concerned with what time Po and the Five would get back, only that today was the day of their return. They'd get back when they got back, it was that simple.

Shifu huffed. "It _should_ be that simple, anyway," he mumbled. He glanced around the room, as if a sense of calm would pop out from behind the equipment or pillars. Hardly worth the effort. Shifu shook his head. "Maybe I should just make some tea… or meditate at the Peach Tree," he said to himself, starting towards the exit.

No sooner had Shifu reached the first step leading up to the platform did the doors burst open.

"Master Shif-wheh!" Zeng flapped halfhazardly to a stop, narrowly avoiding flopping off the platform onto the grand master himself. "M-Master Shifu," the goose bowed quickly, "the Furious Five and Dragon Warrior have been spotted coming up the western slope," he spouted.

Shifu felt a smile jump onto his face before realization hit him. "Wait," he frowned, "why are they coming up the western slope?"

Zeng swallowed nervously. "Well, um…" he tapped his feather-tips together, "It might be because they have someone with them," he answered in a small voice.

Shifu caught Zeng's gaze sharply. "What do you mean? Who's with them?" he shot

Zeng looked away. "That's the thing… we aren't sure," he looked up cautiously. "And we aren't sure why they'd have one of this _particular_ folk with them either," he continued, his voice trailing off.

Shifu narrowed his eyes, gripping his staff tighter. "And what folk is this person?" he asked in a low voice.

Zeng tightened his beak, glancing to either side of himself before tapping his feather-tips together again. "Well… it… looks like he's… a nomad, sir…"

Shifu was still a moment as he let those words roll around in his head. He finally took his eyes from Zeng and felt his brows draw down. "A nomad… just one?" he asked, eyes darting back to the goose.

Zeng nodded. "A-and, he doesn't look very well kept either… It's almost like they picked him up off the side of the road. I'm not sure… what's going on, sir," Zeng finished with a defeated expression.

Shifu looked away again, shaking his head slowly in confusion. "This makes no sense. I'll have to see for myself," he muttered.

"They'll be at the Master Garden within a few minutes at the pace they were going," Zeng commented.

Shifu looked to him and nodded. "Very well, I'll meet them there."

 **XoXoX**

She could hardly believe it.

Her face hurt. A lot. It was taking so much effort that she was considering asking Mantis to check if something was wrong with her. Tigress huffed yet again as she looked to her left to the trees and rocks in her last ditch attempt.

She was having to work harder than ever to keep from smiling.

She'd had this problem before. But that had been with Lei Lei, a panda cub that she had just started getting accustomed to.

Not a fully grown bull.

 _He's not acting so different from her, though_ , Tigress thought, mentally punching herself for it, while her eyes betrayed her and looked back.

They had decided to take the western route through the mountainous outcroppings so as to avoid the majority of the Valley. And while Bobo had been rather amazed throughout most of the journey so far, he was now apparently awestruck, looking around at the lush colors and exquisite beauty as if it was all a dream he was afraid to wake up from. It was rather humbling really. She and Po had grown up here, and the others had lived here so long that it was just… normal. It was almost strange to see someone else looking at the mountains and mists as if they were barely real.

Tigress caught herself again as they collectively paused with the bull. He'd stopped to reach out to a tree. Viper quietly assured him it was okay to touch it. Tigress watched him slowly run his claws over the mossy bark before her eyes darted to his face. She tightened her lips considerably.

He looked so much like a child, his eyes wide and his expression so open and curious.

Tigress took a deep breath through her nose and glanced away, her gaze trailing up the steps. Quite abruptly, the warmth in her chest that she had been fighting consistently for more than a day now was pierced by a sliver of pain.

They were only thirty yards or so from the Master Garden.

Memories started rolling into her mind like high tide and she clenched her fists as the sound of rustling chains, flashes of green light and an image of a sadistic grin washed through her head. She closed her eyes tightly, bowing her head for a moment. She forced a breath in through her nose, surprising herself with just how hard it suddenly was to do so. She remained still for another moment before slowly opening her eyes, keeping her gaze down.

"What is this?"

Her eyes shot to the source of the question to see Bobo still looking at the tree as if mesmerized.

"What is what?" Viper asked kindly, her confusion obvious.

Bobo blinked. "This." He ran his hoof slowly up the length of the tree. "This soft stuff."

Tigress blinked as she realized what he meant.

"Oh that?" Mantis cut in. "That's moss. You've- wait…" Mantis tilted his head. "You've never… seen moss before?"

Bobo looked to him with those wide eyes before looking back and shaking his head. "No."

Tigress looked from them, her eyes somehow finding Po's. _Funny_ , she thought, looking into the panda's vibrant eyes as her memories continued to get the better of her, _moss carpeted everything up there_. She could have sworn Po had heard her thoughts, as his expression seemed to sadden, his lips tightening as he broke their gaze to look back at the scene. She looked down to the rocky steps and heaved a sigh.

"Come on," she said quietly, starting to walk again, her gaze down as she passed her cohorts. She didn't say anything more as she ended up in a leading position, trekking resolutely to their destination. The others followed suit, starting after her without a word. And without warning, a heaviness started to descend upon them.

Tigress could almost feel the same memories she had relived flowing through the others' minds. Or perhaps it was simply her own mind playing tricks on her. Either way, the heaviness that had settled on her shoulders was playing company to a sudden anxiety in her stomach. _I wonder if this will spark memory in him,_ she thought. Considering their path, it seemed more appropriate that he should have remembered something by now, but he still seemed utterly oblivious. _What if he does remember?_ she asked herself, glancing up. They were almost to the pillar gate of the Garden entrance. She narrowed her eyes as she clenched her fists, feet moving without pause. _What if he… doesn't remember?_

Faster than she would have liked, her foot hit the top step. She stilled, hearing everyone else grow still behind her. She allowed her gaze to travel, roaming across the familiar faces set in stone lining the path. She abruptly dropped her eyes, however, before letting them land on the most familiar face of them all, standing at the far end. She closed her eyes tight, clenching her teeth and holding her fists steady.

After a few silent moments, Tigress finally took a deep breath. She opened her eyes to look at the rock beneath her feet, and squinted, as if seeing it for the first time. The colors seemed more vibrant than she remembered, the mossy growths shining as if covered in dew. She listened to the sounds around them as the leaves rustled gently in the slight breeze, and paid attention to the feel of the air tickling her fur and whiskers. It felt fresh. New, like the morning after the rain. _A new day_ , she thought absently.

Tigress blinked and stood straight. She then turned, looking back to the others. She could see the concern on their faces. Her eyes alighted on the bull and she could see clearly the apprehension in his expression. Tigress examined his eyes, staring back at her wide and unsure. Finally, she allowed the corners of her lips quirk up ever-so-lightly. "Bobo."

The bull straightened, his shoulders tense. "Y-yes?"

"What do you think of this place?" she asked.

Bobo slouched downward again, his face dropping as he his gaze broke from hers to look around again. "It… seems unreal," he answered quietly.

Tigress felt her lips tug upward again… and she was suddenly grateful for it. "It may seem so. But it is very real."

Bobo looked to her as he clasped his hooves together in front of him. "Am I… allowed to be here?" he asked in a small voice.

Tigress' brows shot up in surprise. She didn't look to the others, but she could see them in the edge of her vision radiating the same surprise in one way or another. "Yes," she answered. "You are allowed to be here." She then tilted her head in curiosity. "Why would you ask that?"

Bobo glanced away. "There's… no one else here…"

 _Oh… that makes sense,_ Tigress thought. She nodded as her small smile started to come back. "That is because this place in particular is special. So when we pass through," she waited a moment for him to look back to her, "be respectful. Okay."

Bobo looked surprised for a moment, but then nodded obediently without question.

Tigress nodded back, finally allowing her gaze to dart to the others before turning back. She started into the garden without another word, listening to the others behind her. She zeroed in on the bull's heavy steps, hearing Po hang back to allow him up the stairs first. When she had counted the amount of steps proper to reach the landing, she finally turned back around.

Bobo was looking around with the same awestruck expression as he'd had on his face when they'd first started up the mountain. His eyes were drinking up the stone masters as if thirsty for water, taking in every part of one master's visage before moving on to examine the next.

Tigress glanced to the others, noticing their own curious expressions as they watched him. The corners of her lips quirked up once more as she caught eyes with Po. He looked… relieved. And excited. He had that look on his face as if waiting for something, a question, a comment, a gesture. He looked ready to dive headfirst into everything all over again like he had been when they had come up on the village. Tigress welcomed the happy note that chimed in her at seeing it. His excitement, his emotions in general, were always so contagious. She looked back to Bobo as she finally came to a stop, having been walking backwards the whole time, the lot of them walking slowly with Bobo as if in a procession of some sort. His eyes were stuck on the great Master Rhino. Finally, they darted her way.

She held her breath, anxiety among other things swirling in her chest. She watched his face closely as he looked at the statue of Oogway just up the steps behind her. She could feel the others watching him as well.

Bobo's eyes seemed to be glued to the statue's face. His hooves were clenched in front of him, his claws tightly wound together. His breathing seemed to have become shallower than before. He blinked and slowly looked around at the rest of the statue, eyeing the staff and the upward raised paw, angling over the eloquently carved robe before they suddenly found Tigress. He blinked again and seemed to shrink, eyes never leaving hers.

Tigress realized she must have been staring intensely and closed her eyes before turning and looking up at Oogway's visage. "Do you recognize anyone here?" she asked without thinking.

The silence was thick. Nervousness seemed to waft through the air.

"No," Bobo answered softly. "I haven't seen… any of these before…"

Tigress felt her eyebrows tinge down and she looked at the bull. He was glancing around at the other statues. "Do you mean… you've never seen the people these statues represent? Or you've," she raised a brow, "never seen statues?"

Bobo looked back to her and lowered his head slightly. "Both… I've never seen carvings like this, or this big…" He looked back up to the face of Oogway's statue. "And I've never seen folk like this. Well…" he glanced away.

Tigress' ears perked up but Po beat her to it.

"Well what?" he asked too quickly.

Bobo jumped lightly at the question and looked to Po before lowering his eyes to the ground. "Um, well…" his eyes drifted upward… only to land on Master Thundering Rhino. "I've seen him before," he said, pointing to the very dignified visage.

Tigress felt her eyebrows meeting so hard she thought she'd crack her face. She looked to Po and the others, seeing them mirroring her confusion. She looked back to Bobo and tilted her head. "You have?"

"When?!" Po asked, head comically tilted to the side.

Bobo looked back to them, eyes darting from Tigress to Po. "Gidahn." He pointed back to the statue. "He is a woodworker… he has a wood carving of this person."

Tigress looked to Po and saw his mouth hanging open. She glanced to the others to see them all radiating some sort of shock. She was shocked too.

Why would the old yak Gidahn have carved out a visage of Master Thundering Rhino?

"Did you," all eyes darted to Viper, still draped around Bobo's neck, "ever ask Gidahn who he was?" she asked carefully.

Bobo was still, eyes still at the statue, examining the late master's face. "I did one time. He saw I kept looking at it and asked me if something was wrong. I asked him… who is this person." Bobo lowered his eyes, his head drooping. "He said that answer was for another time."

Tigress crossed her arms. "So, he never answered you," she stated more than asked.

Bobo looked to her at those words and nodded slowly.

"Well, we can answer you," Mantis said from Bobo's other shoulder. "This is Master Thundering Rhino, son of Master Flying Rhino, former steward of Gongmen City!" He looked to Bobo proudly.

Bobo looked to him as if he'd spoken another language. He then blinked, eyes drifting back to the statue's face once more. He was quiet for a moment, long enough for the others to look at each other in concern.

Tigress took a breath to speak but stopped as she noticed Bobo tilting his head.

"Master…" he said quietly. "Gidahn was called Master, too." Bobo looked back to Mantis on his shoulder. "Master of what?"

"What?" Mantis asked, antennae flicking.

Bobo pointed to the statue. "Master Thundering Rhino. What is he master of?" he asked.

Mantis blinked and straightened. "Uh… well-"

"Kung Fu!" Po said, cutting him off. "It's one of the greatest things ever!"

Bobo looked to him, his confusion easy for all of them to see.

"Don't worry," Tigress cut in, watching as Bobo whipped his head to her. "We'll show you," she said, her lips quirking up again.

Bobo's eyes widened for a moment before he looked down, clasping his hooves in front of him again and nodding.

Tigress felt a brow raise at that but shook her head as she turned. "But before we can do that, we need to get you to the palace. Come along," she said, uncrossing her arms and starting up the steps. "It's just up this way."

She listened as the others started moving, ears strangely aware of Bobo's steps. She bit the inside of her lip, feeling a lot less anxious than she had been. _He really… doesn't remember,_ she thought. But even as she though that, her mind shifted to what they had learned. They had a lot more questions than they did before about this Gidahn. _Perhaps Shifu will have some insight,_ she thought, her mind replaying Bobo's comment about Gidahn being called Master. _I wonder…_ Tigress blinked. Her focus shifted to her ears as she heard something other than her comrades' footsteps. She paused her own steps and lifted her head, ears twitching.

Realization struck like lightning.

Tigress barely had enough time to gasp and turn around. "Down!" she shouted. But it was too late.

Bobo's head was thrown up, Viper and Mantis tossed to the side, the bull spun around and before anyone could call out another word, Bobo was on his stomach, arm twisted around his back and the head of Shifu's staff wedged tightly at the nape of his neck.

"Shifu!" Po shouted.

"Master!" Tigress bounded down the steps on all fours and had to stop herself short from grabbing her own master off the bull's back. "Mast-"

"What is the meaning of this!?" Shifu yelled, wide eyes glaring angrily at the lot of them.

"Shifu, please!" Po said desperately, "Let us explain!"

"Oh, you will," Shifu responded acidly, hardly batting an eye at the struggling wheezes underneath him.

 **XoXoX**

"You expect me to believe this!?"

Shifu shook his head as he continued his frenzied pacing on the table of the scroll room. He couldn't believe what he was hearing from not just Po but his own Tigress. He was absolutely sure they'd gone insane. He looked back to them, his accusation blatant in his gaze.

Po raised his paws. "I know it sounds crazy, but like I said, I- if, if it hadn't been for the 'doing the right thing' part that Oogway had said to me before-"

"Which you admit you withheld," Shifu shot out with a glare.

"Yes, yes, I did! Again, I didn't think it pertained to, well… any of this!" Po said with an exaggerated shrug. "I thought it was just general wisdom or something. But once we saw him then I knew, I just knew we had our part one!" He shook his head as his shoulders sagged. "I mean come on, this all lined up perfectly, do you really think-"

"What if you're wrong?" Shifu asked, cutting him off. He stood still and eyed Po angrily. "What if you're wrong and we are delivering something of unknown power and possibility into the paws of a bloodthirsty warlord who will turn on us the moment he is back to full strength? Hm? Did you think of that?"

"Master," Tigress resisted the urge to heave a sigh, "do you really think Oogway would send us out there, to the very place Kai has been for the last five years, just to… _not_ find him?" she asked.

"What if the purpose was to finish him off once and for all?" Shifu responded, throwing his arms up. "By some fluke he ended up back here and we needed to finish the job!"

"That makes even less sense," Po said with another energetic shrug. "The fact that he's here and mortal is a miracle! You really think Oogway would want us to just… undo that?" he asked incredulously.

"I don't know, are you sure you haven't left anything _else_ out of your discussion with him?" Shifu shot out. "Anything else that might actually tell us something about this mess!"

"No!" Po shouted. He then shook his head. "I mean yes, Master! I'm sure I didn't leave anything else out! Look- listen, you haven't even heard the best part yet!" he said, his own aggravation starting to become obvious.

"Oh, there's a _better_ part?" Shifu said, tilting his head in mock surprise. "Oh, please do tell, Dragon Warrior, I'm sure this'll make all the difference!" he said, before turning and starting his frenzied pacing once more.

Po groaned and rubbed his eyes with his fingers.

"Chi."

Both Po and Shifu looked to Tigress.

Her eyes were solely focused on Shifu. "He's still involved with Chi it would seem. But not in the way we remember."

Shifu stopped in his tracks and looked to her seriously. "And what does that mean?"

Tigress tilted her head to the side. "He's leaking."

Shifu stared. He blinked rapidly before shaking his head and standing up straight, tilting his head as genuine confusion marred his face. "What?"

Tigress nodded. "He's leaking. Leaking Chi. It's coming from him on a constant basis. He cannot make it stop, and from what I can tell through my questioning, does not even know this is happening. That's why this village was so lush and thriving, why the crops needed little to no water to grow, and why the villagers never let him leave. He made everything around him grow. They realized this and have been taking advantage of it this whole time."

Shifu eyed her incredulously before glancing to Po. Po had a smile on his face and nodded. He blinked slowly before looking back to Tigress, only to look back and forth between the two of them several times. Finally, he shook his head, rubbing his paws over his face. "Are you two serious?" he asked, this time without the burn of an angry tone, or sarcastic quip.

Tigress allowed a quirk of her lips and nodded while Po nodded emphatically.

"Yes, Master Shifu," he said excitedly, "we're serious. And you can talk to all of us, you can even separate us and treat it like an interrogation if you want, but the fact is we've spent the last three days with him, watching him, talking to him- and it's just obvious! He really has no idea who he is or what is what." Po's expression became more serious. "He's lost _all_ of his memory, Shifu, all of it. And I am convinced that we're supposed to help him. I can feel it. Oogway knew he was there, he knew why he was sending us. Kai is part of this Key, and helping him… will help us." Po looked to Shifu earnestly. "And in the end… it's the right thing to do."

Shifu clenched his teeth as he held Po's gaze, ears flat against his head. He narrowed his eyes before finally breaking their stare and turned, gaze uncontrollably drifting up to the cubicle that had the Jade Scroll in it. He took a deep breath in through his nose and let it out slowly through his mouth. _What does all of this mean?_ he thought desperately.

Kai, alive and mortal, apparently no memory of anything, and radiating Chi without knowing it. And somehow, it was connected to the issue that they weren't even consciously aware of yet? And _somehow_ , he was supposed to help them? And, even better, that he might do so… willingly? Shifu clenched his eyes shut as he resisted the urge to growl.

He turned back to the two of them, leveling his glare once more. "We'll see."

Po and Tigress blinked, nearly in unison, as surprise marred both their faces.

"What?" Po asked, tilting his head.

Shifu stood straight. "You two may be convinced, but I am not. We'll see how much he really doesn't remember."

Tigress' brows furrowed as she regarded him. "Master… what does that mean?"

Shifu looked to her then to Po. "Anyone can lie. Even children can be exceptional at it. And someone as old and conniving as Kai could easily put on a believable performance." He saw the both of them move to speak and raised his paw to silence them. "But old habits borne of centuries of training? How hard do you think it to keep those at bay, hmm?"

Po shook his head. "But we've done this before. It was the first thing we-"

"A surprise attack that he may have known was coming?" Shifu cut him off. "No. We're going to do this properly," he said in a low voice.

Tigress and Po looked to one another before setting eyes on their master once more.

Shifu nodded curtly. "Bring him to the training court."

 **XoXoX**

 _When I said we'd show him, this isn't what I had in mind,_ Tigress thought, discretely chewing on the inside of her lip.

They were all lined up in the training courtyard, Bobo in the center. Shifu was doing a great job of being intimidating. The bull would barely look at him and flinched if they made eye contact. Tigress couldn't help already feeling sorry for him. He'd already been thrown to the ground once today and yet hadn't even gotten to the worst part.

She already knew: This was going to be like Po all over again.

"Master Viper," Shifu called. "You're first."

Viper's head was lowered. She didn't move for a moment. She then straightened up and did her version of fist-to-paw and started over. Bobo looked at her in apprehension. It radiated off him so thickly it almost seemed they could see it. Viper apparently could to some extent because she looked up to him and flinched.

"On my Kiai," Shifu said sharply.

Tigress held her breath, paws clenched tightly behind her back. Viper was without a doubt the most careful of them, but even her least powerful strike was still to be reckoned with.

It was so quiet that everyone heard Shifu take his breath to utter the command.

"I'm sorry, Master," Viper suddenly said, lowering her body and touching her nose nearly to the ground.

"What?" Shifu asked, one ear flicking in aggravation.

"I believe I have injured myself. I should have said something sooner," Viper said, turning to look at Shifu with an ashamed air.

The rest of the Five and Po remained perfectly still.

Bobo, for his part, seemed oblivious. His face a mask of concern, he lowered slightly, looking Viper up and down. "Are you-"

"You have _not_ been given permission to speak," Shifu cut him off gruffly.

The bull jolted and lowered his head, clasping his hooves in front of him. The action came too swiftly and too naturally. It was obvious he was practiced at it.

"I apologize, Master," Viper said, hanging her head low, eyes to the ground. "May I excuse myself?" she requested in a hushed voice.

Shifu was quiet as he regarded her. The courtyard was quiet too. His ears flicked a few times as they all stood at attention. Seconds seemed to tick by agonizingly slow.

"I can step in, Master!" Monkey suddenly chimed. He did not wait for acknowledgment, making his way to the weapons rack to grab two staffs. "Not a problem!" he said cheerfully, spinning one in each hand expertly.

Shifu finally took a deep breath, glancing to Monkey before returning his gaze to Viper. "Agreed. You may be excused, Master Viper."

Viper repeated her vision of fist-to-paw, her head and eyes still lowered. "Thank you, Master." Without another word or move, she slithered out of the court and made her way to the courtyard gate.

Tigress flicked her ears as she listened to the others, her eyes on Shifu as she paid attention to Monkey stepping into the court in her peripheral. It wasn't common for Viper to lie so boldly. Even Shifu knew she was lying. It also wasn't common, being that he did know, that he would let it slide. _Perhaps he has an inkling that what we've been saying is true,_ Tigress thought with a glimmer of hope. She then looked to Monkey as he tossed the second staff to Bobo.

"Catch!" the simian said cheerily.

Bobo moved to catch it, but did so in the clumsiest fashion Tigress had seen in a long time. He didn't even catch it in his hooves. He simply managed to lift his arms in time to wrap them around it before it could bounce off him and fall to the ground. He looked startled, as if he hadn't expected to be given one. Tigress tightened her lips. _Perhaps he is simply looking forward to seeing him getting hit with an actual object_ , she amended mentally.

"Okay!" Monkey said, looking like he was trying not to laugh. "Here's what we're gonna do. When he says 'Kyai' I'm going to try to hit you with this," Monkey moved his staff around for emphasis, "and you try to block me with yours. Got it?" he asked, raising a brow as he smiled.

Tigress felt her own brows twitch upward as she realized what was going on: Monkey was trying to make this less terrifying. He was trying to make it seem fun. She glanced to Shifu. _That might be a futile effort,_ she thought.

"Monkey!" Shifu hollered. "No explanations!"

"Oh! Right! Yes, Master," Monkey said, turning to bow to Shifu.

Bobo had finally taken grip of his staff in mimic of the way Monkey held his. However, he didn't seem any more enthused than he had been when Viper had been in front of him.

Tigress found herself holding her breath again as Monkey faced Bobo and nodded.

"Kiai!" Shifu called without warning.

Monkey was swift, as expected, catching Bobo on both arms several times before bopping him over the brow. He moved to poke him in the stomach but stopped abruptly as the behemoth stumbled back, eyes closed as he dropped his staff to the ground. Bobo shook his head and looked to Monkey in shock.

Monkey sat the foot of his own staff on the ground and seemed to cringe, wearing an apologetic smile. "Oops. You are supposed to block me, remember?"

"Up!" Shifu called.

Monkey immediately snapped to attention and took stance.

Bobo looked up.

Tigress resisted the urge to slap her paw to her face. She heard a muffled wheeze from mantis and heard Crane pulling his hat down. She saw Po lower his head in her peripheral, though she could see his eyes were still directed to the scene.

"I said, _up!_ " Shifu hollered, glaring at the bull.

Bobo looked to him, eyes wide, then looked up again. "Wha- what?"

" _Pick_ up your staff and _retake_ position!" Shifu grated, managing somehow to achieve a shouting voice through clenched teeth.

Bobo looked to him fearfully before finally looking back to the staff. He hurried forward, fumbling as he made to pick it up, before standing straight, eyes on Monkey as he held the staff awkwardly in front of him.

"Kiai!" Shifu called.

"Block me!" Monkey shot out as he moved once again.

Bobo did manage to move the staff and block Monkey's first strike. However, as Monkey made more strikes, landing all of them, it was apparent he hadn't done it on purpose; he'd merely jerked his arm upwards as he'd flinched back.

Once again, he was staffless, holding his head in his hooves as he stumbled back.

"Monkey! I told you, no directions! And the _only_ commands being given are _mine-_ or did you _happen_ to forget the most basic rules of sparring during your excursion?" Shifu shouted angrily.

Monkey turned to Shifu immediately, bowing with fist-to-paw, staff still in hand. "Yes, Sir, and no, Sir!" he answered spiritedly.

Shifu audibly growled. "Twenty laps around the courtyard, now!" he ordered.

Monkey nodded. "Yes, Master." He turned and hopped to the rack, quickly depositing his staff and started for the edge of the courtyard. He started his run, the rest of the Five and Po stepping forward to let him by.

Tigress looked to Bobo as she listened to Monkey pass by. He looked terrified and unsure. She immediately noticed how different it was from when Po had been in that court. Po had gotten back up again and again, wanting to go over and over. Bobo already looked like he wanted to hide and sink into the ground. _This is not good,_ she thought, worry starting to color her insides.

"Mantis! Your turn," Shifu called out, his eyes also glued to the bull.

"Yes Master!" Mantis bowed and hopped into the ring, making a point to grab the staff from Bobo's feet and roll it towards the rack. He then took position in front of Bobo. He smiled and nodded. "Ready, big guy?"

Bobo, shoulders hunched, head low and eyes wide, stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. "No," he squeaked.

Mantis went wide-eyed, but before he could say anything-

"Kiai!"

Like a flash of lightning, the miniscule master had the bull's knees kicked out and then had him flipped onto his back. He hopped onto his chest and seemed to cringe in the same way Monkey had. "Um… got ya?" He laughed, but it was forced and awkward.

Tigress had a sudden urge to sink into the ground herself. Her eyes darted from the mountain of awkwardness that was her fellow master to Bobo underneath him. _At least he looks less scared,_ she thought. He appeared shocked, perhaps awed at the insect's speed.

"Up!" Shifu called.

Mantis hopped off and retook position. Bobo moved to get up, but moved slowly, as if it hurt to use his legs. He looked back to Mantis as he clasped his hooves in front of him.

Then the courtyard grew quiet, the only noise being the sounds of Monkey's feet as he continued his laps.

Tigress looked to Shifu, her face a stoic mask as she examined what she could see of his. He was so still, he looked like one of the statues of the Master Garden. Not even his ears flicked as they usually did. She felt her brows twitch down in confusion as she glanced to Po at her right. He seemed to be watching Shifu as well. _What is he-_

"Mantis, out. Crane, get in," Shifu said suddenly.

There was a moment of silence as the two masters looked at each other and at Shifu in confusion before they both bowed. Mantis hopped out and Crane fluttered in, taking the former's position in front of Bobo.

Mantis hopped up and bounced to Tigress' left shoulder, furthest from Shifu's ears. He leaned close, though he kept his head straight. "I don't like this." He whispered so low it almost sounded like a simple sigh.

Tigress just barely tilted her head towards him as she nudged her shoulder up. Mantis could get away with speaking so low as not to be heard, but she couldn't. _I don't like it either,_ she thought instead, eyes glued to the two in the court.

Crane took stance, his wings splayed proudly. His expression was softer than usual, however, and he gave a low, slow nod, his eyes locked with Bobo's. Bobo swallowed nervously, glancing to either side of himself before nodding back.

The courtyard seemed to grow quiet again.

"Kiai!" Shifu called.

Silence.

Tigress' ears perked up as she looked from Crane to Bobo. Bobo had flinched at Shifu's word, but Crane hadn't moved a muscle. He still hadn't moved. He was still in stance, still staring straight ahead, his face a mask. _No_ , Tigress thought, concern sparking in her chest. She looked at his face and could see the telltale wrinkles at the corners of Crane's beak that happened when he was clenching it shut too tightly. She looked to his eyes and saw they were unfocused.

"Crane!" Shifu shouted. "What are you doing?"

Crane suddenly blinked and broke stance, backing away as he folded his wings and stood tall. "I'm sorry, Master. It won't happen again."

Tigress watched him closely.

"Oh no," Mantis breathed beside her.

 _Exactly,_ she thought in response.

Crane was on the verge of an anxiety attack. They'd known him long enough they'd learned to read his ques. Even Shifu could read them, though currently, he was likely blind to them. Crane always went quiet and would often go still right before an attack, his eyes wouldn't focus and he'd often clench his beak shut. The issue was if he stopped breathing. If he got to the point where he couldn't breathe through it, he would succumb to it entirely.

Tigress watched his chest as he retook stance. She saw it rise slowly and started counting. - _Three, four, five, six, seven…_ At ten it reached its crest and started to go back down. Tigress could have heaved her own sigh of relief, however temporary. Crane was doing fine for the moment; he was still using the ten-to-ten count method.

The only issue was if he could keep it up while sparring.

"Kiai!" Shifu called.

Crane moved with that swift elegance that he was so known for, wings a kaleidoscope in front of him as his feet hit every possible pressure point he could have needed to hit. In a manner of seconds, he had Bobo face-first on the ground, wheezing. Crane fluttered back to his starting position and touched his feet to the ground, his wings folding immediately as he seemed to shrink into himself. He looked to either side with an almost guilty air as Bobo moved his arms, struggling to push himself up.

"Up!" Shifu ordered.

Crane retook his stance.

Bobo was still trying to get up.

"I said, _up!_ " Shifu yelled.

" _How_ is this hehffng…" Bobo wheezed, his voice trailing off as he gasped for air.

"What?" Shifu barked with a glare.

Bobo shook his head. Finally managing to get his knees underneath him. "You… they…" He huffed, head low as he leaned back into a kneeling position. "They said… they wanted to… help me." He shook his head and looked up, confusion and frustration warring on his face. "They said they wanted to… help me remember," he said, his expression flickering with a hint of pain. "How is this helping?" he asked. "I don't understand," he finished, his voice faltering.

Tigress clenched her teeth and her fists. Her mind was aggravatingly blank. She knew Bobo had a point: this wasn't helping him. But she knew that not one of them knew what would. Movement caught her eye and when she looked to it, she immediately froze.

Shifu had turned to look at them. His eyes were squarely on Po. They then darted to her. His eyes were hard and his expression stony. He then turned back to the court.

 _Oh no,_ Tigress held her breath.

"Oh, so they didn't tell you?" Shifu asked, sharp sarcasm coloring his voice. He glanced to Crane and nodded to the side. Crane obliged and exited the court with a bow. Shifu zeroed back in on the bull and started forward. "You see, this is right up your alley."

Bobo seemed to find new energy at Shifu's approach and clumsily got back to his feet. His hooves retook their clasped position in front of him as he eyed the diminutive master fearfully. "R-right up… my alley?" he asked.

"Oh yes," Shifu answered, his staff tapping loudly against the ground. "You are _very_ good at this. It's called Kung Fu, if you can't remember that either." He said, his voice somehow menacing even though he spoke with almost casual tones. "You see, you are _so_ good at this, that you bested almost everyone here in this courtyard." Shifu raised his arms. "Even me!"

Bobo stared at him, eyes wide. He swallowed nervously as he radiated the same anxiety that Crane was so practiced at hiding. "I-I don't-"

"You are _so_ good at this," Shifu continued, cutting him off, "that you believe we should all know your name, who you are, and what you're capable of. And you even tried, not so long ago, to kill and destroy _everyone_ _else_ who is good at this too." Shifu's voice grew rocky and cold. His eyes never leaving Bobo's as he continued his slow procession towards him.

Bobo was visibly upset, his hooves trembling, his eyes wide and his breathing shallow. He shook his head with difficulty, eyes never leaving Shifu's as he took a step back. "No," he said in a small voice.

"Shifu, that's enough!"

The courtyard rang loudly with the sudden silence that followed Po's shout. He'd stepped forward, arms down and fists clenched, as he glared at Shifu with an ardor he barely ever used, especially not on his own comrades, and never so towards someone he respected as his superior.

Shifu remained still as Bobo trembled in front of him, their eyes locked. He let out a small sigh of air through his nose. "Is it?" he asked quietly.

Bobo remained stationary for a moment before he finally shook his head and broke eye contact. He closed his eyes and jolted to the side, taking a step towards the courtyard gate.

Shifu moved with his practiced speed and before anyone even had time to gasp he had Bobo knocked to the ground on his stomach, right arm twisted around his back and his staff head pinning down the nape of his neck, exactly as with their first encounter.

"Shifu!" Po hollered.

"Master!" Tigress called.

"NO!" Shifu yelled, glaring up at them. "YOU said you wanted to help him remember!" he shouted, yanking Bobo's arm further up and pushing slightly against the staff. "YOU were the ones who brought him here, after EVERYTHING he's done!"

Monkey bounded up, taking place on Po's right. "Master, please!" He said, holding his paws up. "Things change-"

"Oh? Do you really think so?" Shifu said, annunciating his question with yet another tug and push, Bobo struggling to breathe as he clawed at the ground with his free hoof. "I think maybe you've all _forgotten!_ "

"Master!" Crane pleaded, fluttering up next to Tigress. "Stop, this isn't-"

"What? Isn't right?" Shifu shot, turning his glare on the bird. "Do you think _he_ cared about what was _right?!_ " He tugged and pushed once again, eliciting a pained yelp.

Tigress bristled and nearly pierced her own paws with her claws. Something about that sound struck her wrong. "Master, you're going to break his arm," she said in a deceptively smooth tone.

"And if I do? He broke much more than that!" Shifu responded, her comment seeming to stoke his anger even further.

"uuffff…"

All eyes darted to Bobo.

His eyes were clenched tightly, his expression pained. "Oouufff…" he wheezed.

"What?!" Shifu barked, once again pushing against his staff and tugging on the bull's arm.

"Gntt… oofff…" Bobo managed in nothing less than a pain-filled whine.

The others stared while Shifu's glare intensified, as if trying to burn a hole in the back of Bobo's head.

"Oh, I don't _think_ so," Shifu growled. He pushed yet again on the staff. "You'll get up when I-"

"sss- gET OFF!"

Quite suddenly there was a whirlwind of motion, dust was flung up, claws scraped the ground and heavy thuds reverberated through the courtyard.

Tigress stared. She could feel the stillness of Po, Monkey, Crane and Mantis with her as they all stood several steps back. Her mind was empty as she simply continued to stare at the impossible scene before them.

Bobo stood in perfect stance, Shifu's staff in his hooves and pointing to the master who was now in front of him and on his back.

In less than three seconds time, Bobo had somehow managed to buck his back up and twist his body, throwing Shifu off him while gripping the staff with his free hoof as he fully twisted around, using the momentum to bring himself to a stand.

That was something that only a master could have managed.

That was something Kai would do.

Shifu snarled. "See! I told… you…" his words failed as he stared, his anger started to fade at the sight before him.

In the blink of an eye, the expression, the glare, the very stance that had radiated _Kai_ was gone.

The end of the staff started shaking as Bobo's terrified eyes darted from Shifu, to the staff, to his hooves. The shaking grew to encompass his forearms and shoulders and suddenly his whole body was trembling. Wide eyes darted back to the master on the ground. He blinked. Then blinked again. His breathing started coming in tiny gasps as he let go of the staff, the sound of it bouncing off the ground echoing through the courtyard as he brought his hooves to his face. "I c-cant… m-my eyes… why…"

"You're crying," Mantis suddenly said from Tigress' shoulder.

Bobo was crying. A lot. Water was flowing down his face as if literal streams had been opened up and his eyes were the only outlets.

Bobo took a step back as he ran his claws over his face. He looked at his soaked hooves and tried again, but the tears kept coming. "W-why… a-am I… I d-don't…" He shook his head, trying to rub his eyes. He continued wiping at his face, only to be met with more and more water. He shook his head again, taking another step back, then another, his breathing starting to become labored as the tears kept coming. There were so much of them and they were so heavy that the sounds of them hitting the ground beneath him were loud enough for everyone to hear. "I d-don't understand," Bobo whined, looking at his shaking hooves as his trembling seemed to worsen.

Quite suddenly he fell to his knees. He didn't seem to notice as he covered his face, tears forcing their way out from under his hooves and through his claws. "W-what's _wrong_ with me?" he uttered in a weak voice.

No one said a word.

Sudden movement broke the trance that the others had fallen into as Tigress started forward. Her steps were smooth, careful and quiet. She moved her left shoulder up, and Mantis took the cue to hop off. She continued her path, passing Shifu who remained frozen in his spot on the ground. She closed the distance to Bobo.

The bull seemed unaware of her presence as he sat hunched over, hooves pressed into his face and claws digging into his forehead.

Tigress reached out, letting her fingers brush against the smooth but scarred surface of one of his horns. He tensed, his breath hitching. She trailed her touch down to rest her paw on the top of his head. The moment of stillness seemed to last a lifetime. Then, she removed her paw and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his bowed head into the crook of her neck. "It's going to be okay," she said softly. "Just let it out." She rested her chin atop his head, her face snuggled between his horns as she looked to the courtyard beyond them and listened.

There was another moment of stillness. Then, the breath he'd been holding rushed out against her fur and she felt him shudder in her arms. The claws that had been digging into his own face were now digging into her silk as he leaned into her, sobs wracking his body in earnest.

 _How surreal,_ Tigress thought, her mind strangely calm. _I wonder… if Oogway would approve._ She took a breath, closing her eyes as she held Bobo close, letting him bawl away in her arms as the others looked on in silence.

 **XoXoX**

The night had brought with it a chill in the air. It seeped in from the outside to soak into the floors and pillars of the palace, creeping through the hallways and making whatever feet were traipsing about at this hour walk just a little bit faster.

Shifu took a deep breath in through his nose. He held it for a moment, then let it out slowly. He opened his eyes to view the colorful walls illuminated by the hundreds of candles surrounding the viewing pool at the end of the Hall of Heroes. He looked down into the water, it's smooth surface mirroring the great dragon sculpture that overlooked it.

"Master?"

He blinked slowly, keeping still in his seated position, staff laid prone in front of him. "Yes, Tigress?" he responded, his voice unusually soft, even to his own ears. He heard her shift lightly from behind him.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to interrupt."

He would have smiled, the exchange eliciting a brief memory from when Tigress was younger. However, he felt perhaps it was a bit inappropriate.

He had a _big_ apology to issue before he could walk down memory lane.

 _Funny… that seems to be all I can do right now,_ he thought to himself. Shifu finally heaved a sigh, lowering his head before finally making the effort to turn himself to face Tigress and Po. They'd come as called and had been waiting for him to address them for several minutes. He opened his eyes to them, seeing Po looking rather concerned and Tigress wearing her usual mask of stoicism.

"Please," he said, "be at ease." He gestured to either side of himself. He noticed their respective looks of surprise at the occurrence, but was inwardly grateful when they both moved to sit on either side of him. Po took his right side. Tigress, his left. He nodded before moving to turn back around. He listened as they turned with him, the three of them now facing the pool.

"Master?"

Shifu flicked his ear and looked to Tigress, now on his right. She was regarding him with concern, her mask gone at this unusual happenstance.

"What's going on?" she asked earnestly.

"Are you okay?" Po asked on his other side.

Shifu looked down, gaze drifting back to the viewing pool. He again regarded the mirror image of the dragon carving. It only served to reinforce the memory that had pulled itself from the muddiest reaches of his mind to replay again and again and again in the last several hours. He closed his eyes, bowing his head. "I need to apologize."

The room remained quiet at his words.

"You do?" Po asked in a small voice.

Shifu couldn't even bring himself to feel annoyed. He kept his eyes closed as his ears dropped back, flattening against his head. He lowered his head even further. "I am sorry. To both of you. For not trusting either of you." He opened his eyes slowly, keeping his gaze down. "I have made a terrible mistake."

"Master…" Tigress' voice was soft, "you… weren't the only one who made that mistake."

Shifu blinked and looked to her, ears angling towards her. Her eyes held understanding as she met his gaze.

"I attacked him without provocation," she said. "The only reason I didn't hurt him was because of Po."

Shifu already knew that of course. They'd told him in the scroll room. But he supposed, in his anger, he hadn't thought that perhaps the emotion he had been failing to control in that moment, was the very emotion that had motivated her in her own moment. He let his eyes drift down.

"This is hard." Shifu and Tigress both looked to Po. He was staring at the viewing pool, hunched over with his arms resting on his knees, paws clasped in his lap. "It doesn't seem real. And we can't help but wonder how this could be the way it is." He looked to Shifu.

Shifu felt his ears lower once more as he regarded his youngest student and friend. He had such a wise look to him. It reminded him of Oogway. Shifu closed his eyes, once again the memory forcing itself into his consciousness.

"Shifu… are you okay?" Po asked again, but this time more deliberately.

Shifu moved his head towards the viewing pool. He shook it slowly. "No," he answered honestly.

"Master," Tigress' voice held a note of concern, "you can't be so hard on yourself for-"

"Even if I hadn't acted grotesquely out of line," Shifu interrupted quietly, "which I… I definitely did…" He clenched his eyes shut tightly. "It is made worse by what happened as a result."

Po and Tigress glanced to one another over Shifu's head. "What," Po looked back to him, "are you talking about?" he asked, his confusion evident.

Shifu clasped his hands in his lap, gripping his own fingers tightly.

The memory played again. Pale green irises shined in the darkness behind his own lids and he bit the inside of his lip as brilliant green ones shimmered to the surface to replace them. He opened his eyes once more, trying to allow his mind to empty before he riled his emotions up yet again.

"I think you are more right than you realize about Kai," he stated. He felt them go still at his sides.

Tigress was the first to ask. "What do you mean?" Her voice was quiet and apprehensive.

Shifu swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump growing in his throat. "Kai. … His memory isn't lost." He was quiet a moment as he tried to find the right words. "It is buried. Buried very, _very_ deep. But not lost." He waited, expecting the questions to come rolling in. But it was blessedly silent, his students as patient as ever. He looked down, his gaze catching his fingers still clasped in his lap. He ran one thumb over the other as he used their patience to find more words to give definition to his realization. "I can't know in truth that he chose this or if it happened due to these circumstances, for surely no one would _willingly_ choose to… forget, for lack of better phrasing… Especially not him, I would expect." Shifu heaved a heavy sigh. "But… while on the surface, he has no memory of even the very basics of Kung Fu… part of him remembers it. Part of him… remembers who he really is."

He heard Tigress shift. "How can you be sure?"

Shifu remained quiet for several moments, gaze drifting to the staff in front of him. He stared at it for a moment too long. He felt his face mar and closed his eyes. "Because… one cannot feel the pain of regret… without knowing what to be regretful of."

He heard Po shifting towards him. "I don't understand," he said quietly. "Are you saying… what _are_ you saying?"

"You are saying," Tigress said, "that Kai… feels regret?" she asked as she too shifted towards Shifu.

Shifu breathed in and out slowly through his nose, taking his time. It was one thing to relive the memory. It was another to speak it.

He'd never told anyone.

"I've seen it before," he said softly. "What happened in the courtyard. I've seen someone… a warrior… break down into uncontrollable tears." He clenched his fingers together tighter.

Both Po and Tigress grew still and quiet, sounding almost as if they'd stopped breathing. Whether this was due to patience, curiosity, or confusion he wasn't sure. Never-the-less, Shifu took advantage of their silence. He took one more deep breath, and pushed open the doors of the past, allowing the memory to run its full course.

"When I was young, only a resident of this very palace for a few years, the village was attacked and held hostage by fear. These were no ordinary bandits. They would come, terrorize the people, take what they wanted, then go. Never much at a time. But they would come every night. They were there and gone within minutes, leaving nearly no time for Oogway, at that time, the only protector of the Valley, to reach the scene while the culprits were present. After many nights of this, a message was finally left, addressed to Oogway himself. It read, 'We will meet you at your palace at the height of the next day'. It was ominous and strange, but Oogway held no fear. The villagers believed in him, as he believed in himself.

"That night he told me I was to hide in the scroll room. He would tuck me into one of the most unused shelves and hide me under the scrolls. He said, no matter what I heard, and no matter what happened, that I stay there until he came to retrieve me. The next morning, he hid me and he went to meet with these strange bandits. But, not long after, I heard someone come back into the room. I realized very quickly that it wasn't him, but not one of the servants either. I did well in my task. I remained still and quiet as I heard this person start to go through the shelves one by one. By the time I realized something was truly wrong, it was too late. I was uncovered and found myself eye-to-eye with a feline masked and clothed in black. She was too fast and had me by the mouth before I could even move.

"She carried me through the palace grounds, grip so strong it was as if her arms were made of rope. Her paw over my mouth, and thumb covering my nose if I made too much noise. I was at her mercy. Then, I realized where she was carrying me to. I heard words, arrogant and boisterous. Too soon, we were at the grand courtyard, and I saw Oogway facing a panther and his hoard, all clothed as the one who held me, though he had his mask undone. The panther saw me, and proudly proclaimed his underling's catch. Oogway turned and when he saw me… I had never seen him look so horrorstruck. The panther challenged, 'Give me what I ask of you, and your charge will go free. His life is in your paws, oh honorable Oogway.'

"I realized, again too late, why Oogway had been so struck by what he saw. The feline who held me stood me to my feet, but then crouched low, holding me too her. I felt something at my throat and knew it was a knife. The smell in the air made me understand. The blade was poisoned. Only a nick, and it wouldn't matter what Oogway did.

"It was then that Oogway did something I'd never seen before… his face… it hardened. Not in a way of determination, not in a way of anger… the expression was so foreign to me that I didn't even know a word to call it. He turned to the panther and responded, his voice carrying a tone just as mysterious as the expression on his face. He said, 'You will release him. And you will leave.'

"The panther merely laughed. He looked to the feline behind me and nodded."

"Everything happened so fast." Shifu finally opened his eyes, gaze finding Oogway's staff instantly. "It could have been seconds, minutes or an instant of time. But suddenly, I was standing alone. I looked and the feline was on the ground behind me. I looked further and saw that the others of the crowd were on the ground, unmoving. I finally found Oogway standing several yards in front of me, the panther on the ground before him. Relief and happiness hit me like a landslide and I started running to my master. I know I was smiling, and I said out of pure joy, 'You did it, you did it Master, we're all safe'… but… I stopped running.

"Oogway… he wasn't smiling. He wasn't moving. He was looking at his paws. His eyes were wide. I looked at his paws and saw them shaking. When I looked back to his face… his eyes… they shined so bright in the sun… and then… he started crying. Tears started falling so freely down his face. They were like streams, just… falling and falling. I just stood there, at a loss, in total shock. I didn't understand… and then he spoke."

Shifu looked up and away from the staff, his heart heavy as the moment played once more as if it had only happened yesterday. "Do you know what he said?" he asked.

Po and Tigress were both deathly quiet at his sides.

Shifu let his eyes fall shut again.

"Oogway said… 'What is wrong with me?'.

"I stared at my master, so at a loss that I didn't know what to think or feel. I then realized, once again too late, what was going on. I looked to the panther in front of him. I looked to the feline far behind who had held me. I looked around to all the others on the ground. And I knew.

"Oogway had killed them all."

Shifu opened his eyes as his own tears finally escaped. They made their tracks in his fur, leaving his face hot yet cold at the same time. "I could think of no way to comfort my master. I didn't even know what to say. My logic had failed me and I had yet no wisdom to guide me. And yet somehow, my lack of knowledge led me to do probably the wisest thing. I looked to my master, and I walked to him. I held out my arms… and I embraced him. I held him around the middle as tightly as my arms could. He was shaking so hard I even thought I might lose my grip of him. But I held on. He finally realized I was there. And he shrank. He wrapped his arms around me, held me close, and sank into himself, holding me as if I was the only thing that could keep him alive."

Shifu swallowed hard against the knot in his throat, his eyes burning as his gaze drifted back to the staff in front of him. "That was the first… and only time I saw Oogway cry. That was also the only time I saw him ever express regret of any kind. It forever changed my view of him. I realized that day that… there… was more…" Shifu clenched his teeth as the stinging in his eyes grew sharper, "there was so much more about him that I had never known. Because I realized, after much thought on that day, that Oogway… he knew how to take a life. Long before that had ever happened. He knew. Because he had done it before. And he'd done it that day, one last time. And the regret was so hard on him… that the only thing he could do… was cry."

Po and Tigress looked to one another over Shifu's head. Each mirrored the other's somber expression. Neither of them spoke as they looked back to their master, moving in near unison to touch a paw to each shoulder.

Po squeezed tightly as he bit his lip.

Tigress merely looked to the staff, her thumb moving up and down over his shoulder in an instinctive motion.

"You think…" Po seemed to lose his voice for a moment before shaking his head, his eyes shiny. "You think… Kai… the real Kai, deep down inside… remembers everything? You think… he regrets what he did?"

Shifu never took his eyes off the staff. He shook his head slowly. "I can't say that for sure. I can't say that this is true for him… that if, when, we uncover his memories and he truly knows his own name again, that he'll be a different person." His brows furrowed as his eyes started burning again in earnest.

Shifu reached out and grabbed the staff, standing it upright and gripping it tight as he looked up the length, over the repaired middle and to the crescent at the top. "I can say though… that this is one coincidence that I don't think I can overlook." He closed his eyes and bowed his head, inwardly grateful for the paws at his shoulders. "A similar situation. The same time of day. Even the same exact question." Shifu leaned forward and let his arm pull. He took a shaky breath as he felt the staff touch his forehead. "… and the same tears."

Shifu clenched his eyes tight and his grip on the staff tightened. Oogway's pale green, tear-filled eyes shimmered to life behind his closed lids before rippling away to be replaced with Kai's vibrant green eyes, filled with the same tears, torn with the same expression.

Shifu took another deep breath, the action hard and causing his shoulders to shake. "I don't know what will become of this," he breathed. "I cannot predict what is going to happen. And while I am sorry for how I acted, and I hope you can forgive me… I can't say I will be able to trust him, even now."

Po gave a reassuring squeeze. "It's okay, Shifu."

"Believe us," Tigress said. "We understand."

Shifu opened his eyes, not really seeing the marble but not really seeing nothing either. "I know you do," he responded. "And I hope you know, while I may not trust him… I do… I will, trust in you." He lifted his head, looking first to Tigress, and then to Po. He then looked forward to the staff in his paw, tightening his grip on it. "But most of all… I think we all know we can trust Oogway. And… I'm willing to give this a proper try."

"For him," Po said suddenly, as if reading Shifu's mind.

Shifu looked to the panda. Po's eyes were on the staff. He looked back to it, looking up to the crescent, as if he could still see Oogway perched upside-down in its crest.

"For him," Tigress suddenly repeated, her paw squeezing tightly as she too looked to the staff.

Shifu breathed in, the smell of the night air mixing with the subtle scent of his own tear-soaked fur. He breathed out and felt his inner turmoil finally starting to ebb away like the ocean's tide.

"For him."

 **XxXxX**

* * *

 **How's that for some nitty-gritty, eh? Don't worry, it gets better. ;)**

 **Thank you for the read! Have a good day or night and a wonderful time~**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Kung Fu Panda, nor am I in any way affiliated with it's creators. All belongs to DreamWorks.**

 **I only claim the storyline and OC's.**

 **Author's note below:**

 **I wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who's been sticking with this so far! It's awesome to know that people are following this, and I have to admit, I do feel bad when I can't update in a timely manner. Hopefully, as mentioned in the last update, I'll be able to keep up with this more regularly.**

 **Regardless, thank you again everybody!**

 **Anyway, I did mention how things get better from here on out, right? Well, they also get cuter. Read on to find out more~**

* * *

 **Chapter 8~***

 _It was dark._

 _There were noises all around; harsh and sharp noises that cut like knives. There was rustling in the distance, sounding like metal grating on metal. The noises were abruptly replaced with the sound of rushing water, strong and deep. Then came a noise as if heavy powder was falling against something hard._

 _Words._

 _Muffled words drifted though the darkness. Shouts and yelling. Thuds and scrapes and sharp sounds, like wood hitting wood. There was a loud, sickening crack. Pain shot through the darkness._

 _It went strangely quiet._

 _A soft something started up. It sounded like murmuring… breathing. Heavy breathing in the dark. A pained groan. Shakiness, very shaky, as pain and… something else, started moving, flowing, rushing like water._

" _.. Brother…"_

His eyes flew open as he gasped lightly.

Bobo found himself staring at a ceiling made of bamboo and swathed in orangey-gold light. His breaths were shaky. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. It was strangely heavy. He was still, taking several moments to breathe. As his heart started to calm he realized why his chest was so heavy.

Someone was on it.

He moved his head, just a fraction and felt something against his neck as his chin bumped a surface. For a brief moment, the thought of Mika flickered through his mind. He then noticed that this person had no fur.

 _Viper_ , he thought. He relaxed, letting his head rest back against the pillow. He flinched as a dull pain suddenly came to life at the nape of his neck. _Oh, right… yesterday,_ he thought, biting his lip.

Perhaps it was because he was just waking up, or perhaps it was because he'd had one too many jolts to the head, but the events of yesterday seemed murky, clouded even. He remembered finally making it to the Valley as they called it, making it up the side of the mountain, talking about the statues… and then he was on the ground. Then waiting with the others as Po and Tigress went away with the small one. Then they were in the stone yard. He felt his face scrunch up as he remembered the hits and whacks and hard landings on the ground. As if prompted by the memory, he felt the aches and pains start to flare back to life all along his body. He resisted the urge to groan, trying not to wake the sleeping serpent on his chest.

" _W-what's wrong with me?"_

Bobo felt himself go still. The question he'd asked himself only yesterday fluttered around in his head. He barely remembered what had led to it. _I was on the ground… right?_ He had been on his stomach. He'd been held down, his arm wrenched up behind him where it didn't belong, something painful pushing into the back of his head. The whole experience had been so painful. And then…

Bobo blinked. "What… did I do?" he whispered.

The next thing he remembered, he was standing, his eyes were burning, he couldn't see… he'd been crying.

The memory of soft fur and smooth silk brushed his mind… Master Tigress. She'd held him. He had cried for a very long time. He wasn't even sure how he got from there to where he was now.

Bobo shook his head. "I don't understand," he murmured, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling above.

"Hmm?"

Bobo froze instantly. He then felt movement on his chest and a shiver.

"Are you awake?" came a sleepy feminine voice.

Bobo finally let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Um… yes?" he said quietly.

"Good," Viper answered, lifting her head up and rubbing her eyes with her tail. "How are you feeling this morning?" she asked.

Bobo relaxed a little, though he eyed her carefully. "Sore," he answered honestly.

Viper looked at him and an apologetic expression immediately bloomed across her face. She averted her gaze and lowered her head. "I see. I'm sorry… that yesterday happened like it did." She looked back to him quickly. "The others-" she stopped abruptly, looking away again, "the others are too," she finished softly.

Bobo swallowed nervously. Curiosity bubbled in his mind, but it didn't bring with it any words to form questions with. Finally, more without his intent, he spoke. "Why?"

Viper looked to him and tilted her head. "What?"

Bobo blinked and looked away, bringing his left hoof up to scratch at his neck. "I mean… why… what… happened?"

Viper tilted her head the other way. "You… you don't remember what happened?"

Bobo shook his head as frustration started welling. "No, I…" He closed his eyes and leaned up. Viper obliged and, in the most graceful way a serpent could, hopped from his chest and to an empty corner of the cot. He kept his eyes shut as his head swam, clenching his teeth against the sick feeling suddenly in his stomach. He was still a moment as he took a deep breath, sitting up fully. He opened his eyes hesitantly, glancing around the room to see a bamboo floor, paper walls, and not much else. He looked back to Viper, waiting patiently near his feet. He shook his head lightly. "I mean… why… did yesterday happen?" he managed, not sure if it was enough of a real question, but not sure he could put any more words to it either.

Thankfully, Viper seemed to understand. Her eyes widened then lowered, a sorrowful expression coloring her face. She was still for several moments, seeming to think heavily about the question. She looked back to him slowly. "It's… not an easy question to answer…"

Bobo stared anxiously.

Viper lowered her head as she curled around herself. "There's… there's a lot of pain… around you. Around our memories of you," she said quietly.

Bobo heard words in his head aside from hers. Words from the small one, spoken yesterday. _"… you are very good at this… you even tried… to kill and destroy… everyone else…"_ He swallowed hard. "I… I caused pain?" he asked in the same quiet voice she'd spoken in.

Viper looked up and bit her lip. "I… I think I've said too much."

Bobo felt his brows go down. "I thought… Po… he said he was my friend… he made it sound like we all knew each other. I don't…" he looked away, eyes drifting to the bamboo floor. "I don't understand." He started lightly as he felt pressure on his hoof and looked back to see Viper's tail curled around it. He looked up to see cyan eyes boring into his own.

"Bobo. This is hard for all of us. More than you know," she said, her voice quiet yet sure. "But I want you to know… you are supposed to be here. And we… we are supposed to be here with you." She lowered her head, looking at him intently. Her eyes were suddenly so bright, her gaze so strong. Then, her expression softened, and a soft hiss emanated from her. "Okay?"

Bobo blinked, feeling his mind working slowly to understand. It was hard, like trudging through mud. He looked down, not sure what to think or feel. But the grip on his wrist felt strong… reassuring. It didn't feel like a chain or matter of force. It felt comforting.

Bobo looked back up, feeling confused and concerned… but better. He nodded slowly. "Okay," he answered.

 **XoXoX**

The day was starting to enter full swing.

It was bright, sunny, and scuffling and bustling could be heard about the palace grounds, the servants already starting in on their morning tasks.

Shifu stood in the training courtyard, listening to the sounds of the goings on, much as he had the day before. Only this time, he didn't feel the nervousness and anxiety.

He felt exhausted.

As if he'd been carrying a weight and had finally let it off his shoulders. Shifu took a deep breath. "Now for the hard part," he murmured. He was no fool, nor was he so arrogant. He knew he wasn't done with his apologies. And the biggest one would be hardest to give.

However, he wasn't quite at that point yet.

He opened his eyes and again looked at the strange happenstance he'd noticed this morning. He was certain it had everything to do with their new charge.

Sprouting up from the hard ground and stone tiles was the liveliest green grass he'd seen in a while. It had grown tall and strong, and was so vibrant he could have called it emerald. He bent just slightly, reaching out his free hand to grasp at a strand. It was fibery and very strong, like the wild grass of the mountain valleys.

And it hadn't been there yesterday.

Shifu let go and looked around once again, making sure of his position in the courtyard. He nodded to himself as he looked back to the growths.

This was where Kai's tears had fallen.

He looked just behind himself, making sure the scuff marks from Kai's hooves were still where they should be. They were. He took another deep breath, eyeing the sprouts as he leaned on his staff. If anything proved Tigress' and Po's words from yesterday, this would be it. Though, he thought it strange that such an intense reaction would be caused by the bull's tears. He hadn't though that Chi could be concentrated in such a way. But then again, none of them had realized it could be leaked either.

"Master?"

Shifu felt his back stiffen and the fur of his spine stand on end. Luckily, his robe hid the latter. He turned, seeing Viper just behind him. He heaved a sigh and smiled lightly. "Ah… hello Viper. How are you feeling this morning?" he asked.

Viper bowed lightly. "I… um." She looked away, guilt fluttering across her eyes. "I have… a confession, Master…"

Shifu already knew. He raised his paw, another smile working its way onto his lips. "No need, Master Viper. I'd rather know that you are doing well, if you are, that is." He knew she'd lied yesterday. He'd been in no mood to challenge her on it. And he certainly wasn't now.

Today was a new day.

Viper looked to him with wide eyes. She nodded, looking to him earnestly. "I am doing well today, Master. And… how are you?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Shifu gripped his staff and nodded lightly. "I am… better." He looked to her, and felt his expression mar. He then turned quickly, before she could say anything. "Did you notice this, Viper?" he asked suddenly.

He listened to her slither up from behind him and promptly gasp. "When… when did this get here?"

Shifu again bent and ran his fingers over one of the blades. "I would guess it grew here overnight. I believe it is because of-" he stopped short. He contended with himself for a moment. Finally, he decided it would be best to do as the others had. "I believe it is because of Bobo," he finished, using the new name they knew the old bull by. He nearly thought he could hear Viper's eyes darting to him. But she merely moved forward, using her tail as he used his paw, to single out a few strands and examine them. "You know of… Tigress and Po told you, did they not?" Shifu asked, suddenly wondering if she had no clue as to what he meant.

"Yes, they did," Viper answered, clearly distracted by the strands. She then turned and looked around, much as he had, tilting her head, looking to the very same scuff marks he had looked to. "But… this isn't what I expected…"

Shifu nodded. "I know. We will have to share this revelation with them when we get a chance."

Viper nodded as well. She then froze. Her eyes moved slowly to Shifu. "Master… you didn't ask what I meant…"

Shifu regarded her and couldn't help a smile of amusement. "I knew you were watching," he said simply.

Viper sunk down a little and lowered her gaze. "Oh…" She then glanced back up and tilted her head in confusion. "And… you aren't angry with me?"

Shifu shook his head leaning heavily on his staff. "I don't have a right to be angry with you after how I acted. The only person who did anything wrong yesterday was myself."

Viper's expression marred and she shook her head slowly. "Master-"

"It is alright, Viper," Shifu interrupted. "It is the truth. And I will," he paused as his ear flicked, catching sound of exactly what he'd been waiting for, "do my best to make it right." Viper looked behind him almost on cue.

Shifu turned and looked to see the other masters making their way into the courtyard. Though, it was a slow precession.

Monkey and Crane were in the front, both looking back and gesturing spiritedly. Mantis was on Crane's hat muttering words of encouragement. He could just barely see Tigress, as she appeared at the side of their new guest, paw on his shoulder. Po was out of sight, hidden by Crane and the stone doorway.

Shifu swallowed a sudden knot in his throat. He took a deep breath and started forward, Viper at his side.

Monkey was the first to see him and Crane followed the simian's sight, his eyes alighting on him as well. He glanced to them briefly, but his eyes immediately narrowed in on… Bobo. _I'll have to get used to that,_ Shifu thought, stopping several yards away. The bull immediately cringed, though he didn't blink or look away. Shifu took the opportunity to do that for him, looking to Monkey, Crane, Mantis, Tigress, and Po, now to be seen on the bull's other side, nodding to each of them. He lifted his staff and turned, leveling it flat and laying on the ground behind him. He then stood straight and tucked his paws into his sleeves, pale blue eyes again finding the bull's vibrant green. "Please," he said in a quiet voice, "don't be afraid."

Bobo didn't move. He did lower his head, however, keeping his gaze with the master.

Shifu couldn't even feel annoyed. He lowered his head as well, keeping eye contact. "Please." He continued slowly and deliberately. "I would like to speak with you, and the others."

Bobo finally looked away, eyes darting to the other masters around him. Shifu was happy to see them give reassuring nods. The bull then averted his gaze to the ground before stepping forward. He took small steps, for his large size anyway, and finally, with the others around him, made it into the gate, but not quite to the courtyard.

That was fine. Shifu was quite sure they wouldn't be spending any time in the yard today anyway. "Thank you, Bobo." He could have laughed out loud as the bull's gaze shot up instantly, shock and surprise vividly painted across his face. Shifu made a point to keep his eyes and nodded. "I have to be honest with you, and the others." He then glanced to his students and fellow masters. "I have acted horribly." He looked to the ground. "Yesterday should not have happened. And I regret that I was so angry and acted so out of line." He let his eyes drift up.

Po and Tigress were the only ones not showing surprise. Event Viper, who'd had an inkling of what was coming, had stopped breathing at his side. And Bobo… he looked rather lost.

Shifu had to work to keep a brow from raising at the bull's expression. He took a deep breath and trudged along. "You didn't deserve what I did. And I had no right to treat you that way, or act against you so violently," he said deliberately, making sure to keep eye contact. "For all that happened yesterday, I wish to apologize, to you, and to my fellow masters." He glanced to the others before landing his gaze back to the bull. He then pulled his paws from his sleeves and put his fist to his palm. "I am sorry," he said softly, closing his eyes and bowing.

For a moment, everything was quiet. For a moment, Shifu felt anxiety jump up his spine as he clenched his teeth tightly. Finally, he heard movement. The ruffling of feathers and fur, and the soft motion of smooth scales on hard dirt. He felt the corners of his lips quirk up as relief flooded his insides.

They were all bowing back.

Shifu opened his eyes and straightened back up. Only to feel his expression drop in surprise.

Po, Tigress, Crane, Monkey, Viper and Mantis had all done their version of fist-to-paw and had bowed back in receipt of his apology. But Bobo was looking down at the ground, hooves clasped tightly together in front of him. His eyes were shiny, and he looked like he was shaking. The others started to stand straight and he saw them start to look at him in the same confusion.

"Bobo?" Tigress questioned quietly. "What's wrong?" She placed a paw to his shoulder and he flinched at the action.

The bull shook his head, eyes still at the ground, looking almost on the verge of tears.

"It's okay," Mantis said from Crane's hat. "You can talk to us, big guy."

The bull finally closed his eyes tight and shook his head, lowering it as if wishing he could disappear.

Shifu was stunned. He glanced to his side, seeing Viper looking on with concern. He looked to the others and saw them looking around amongst themselves in confusion. Shifu looked back to the bull, feeling his own confusion blatant on his face. "Was it something I said?" he asked, unsure what to make of this.

Bobo shook his head spiritedly and finally unclasped his hooves to run his claws into his eyes. "No… no, I…." He paused and sniffled lightly, his voice a creaking. "I don't know whnn, nennn…" he finished in a mumble.

Shifu's eyes darted to the others, landing on Tigress, then Po. They both shrugged minutely. Shifu looked back to the behemoth. "Um… what?" he asked in as careful a tone as he could manage.

Bobo removed his hooves from his face and reclapsed them in front of him. He opened his eyes only to keep them at the ground as he sniffed once more. His next words were whispered lowly but this time with more clarity.

"I don't know what to do."

Shifu blinked slowly. He looked around to the others, not sure if he was hearing this correctly. Their surprised faces mirrored his own and he realized he wasn't hearing things. He finally shook his head, and shut his mouth, having realized he'd let it hang open. He then cleared his throat as he clasped his own paws in front of him. "You..." he glanced to Viper at his side. She raised her tail and lowered her head in a shrugging motion, looking about as confused as he felt. He looked back to the bull, eyes still averted. "You don't have to do anything," he said, the uncertainty in his voice strange to his own ears.

Bobo looked to him slowly. "I don't?"

Shifu raised a brow as he tried to get his mind working again. He took a deep breath. "Well… no. The thing is… there isn't much to _do_ actually," he mused. "It's more a matter of if you want to accept what I've said and forgive me…" Shifu's gaze drifted as his voice trailed off, "or… or not accept it and… hold it against me," he finished quietly.

The irony of his words nearly made his mental wheels grind to a complete stand still.

He suddenly remembered having done this before. He remembered grey-blue eyes burning like fire, and the answer that was given back then.

Shifu's eyes darted back and he was surprised to see how directly and attentively the bull was watching him. "You don't have to choose right now," he said quickly, though he wasn't sure where those words came from. "You can think about it. Take your time and make your decision when you're ready," he continued a nod.

Bobo seemed surprised by the suggestion and lowered his head. He then raised it once more and looked to Shifu with a guarded expression. "I can?"

Shifu nodded, a slight smile working it's way onto his face. "Yes," he answered, "You have all the time in the world."

Nervousness fluttered through Bobo's eyes but he nodded back slowly. "Okay," he said in a quiet voice.

Shifu raised a brow once more and heaved a quiet sigh as surreptitiously as he could, slipping his paws into his sleeves. _I think I might need a long day to myself after all this,_ he thought. He then came back to attention as Bobo glanced to either side of himself before looking back to him. "Yes?" Shifu questioned.

Bobo looked away, almost as if he hadn't thought he'd be addressed. "Um… what… do I do now?" he asked in a near whisper, eyes darting back to the diminutive master.

Shifu froze. _Good question…_

"Well," Po suddenly chimed, "if everyone's okay with it, we could take a walk around the grounds," he suggested. "We didn't get to show you around yesterday. I think you'll really like the scenery!"

Bobo looked at Po wide-eyed as if he'd forgotten he was there. He kept his lips shut however and glanced away, his gaze darting every which way until it landed on Shifu.

Shifu looked between Bobo and Po, then looked around to see that all eyes had turned to him. He blinked rapidly and averted his gaze. "Em, yes, by all means. Why don't you show him around," he responded stiffly.

"Ooo! Let's show him the training room!" Mantis suddenly shouted.

"Mantis!" Viper exclaimed, "Really!?"

"What? It's cool in there!" Mantis retorted.

"Oh, what about the Grand Arena?" Monkey asked.

"I dunno," Crane commented, "the kitchen might be a good start."

Shifu looked back and forth between all of them as he backed away, his eyes landing on the bull. He looked confused and unsure. _I have to admit,_ Shifu thought, turning and picking up his staff, _Now that I'm looking at him clearly, he doesn't look much…_ he eyed him again as he leaned on the staff, _He doesn't look much like Kai._ Shifu took another deep breath and decided he would use today for observing. Maybe he could see something that the others hadn't. He then blinked, remembering his conversation with Po and Tigress the night before. _I suppose I already have._

After a few extra moments of chattering Tigress took the lead in walking the group away. Shifu followed, keeping amiable distance behind. They started with the Grand Arena. Bobo looked around in awe, his previous uneasiness seeming to melt away at the sight as Monkey and the others pointed out bits and pieces to observe. They then headed out across the grounds, showing him the outer architecture of the palace and its structures. Bobo seemed just as awed by the intricacy of the constructions and their designs. It was just as they were passing by the barracks on the way to the more forested section of the grounds that Bobo became distracted. His attention was on the grass of a plain area set aside for space to be used when needed, such as during the annual cleanings when many items were brought out to be cleaned in the light of the day or to make room for cleaning the inner rooms. When prompted, Bobo asked if it were okay to sit in the grass. After only a moment of hesitance, everyone complied, even Shifu perching himself on a rock at one end, while Bobo and the others all settled in amongst the greenery.

Crane didn't sit like the others, but he did remove his hat, letting the sunlight warm his brow and neck. He smirked to himself lightly, running a wingtip over the top of his head and feeling the once more sprouting growths of the red feathers of his crown. He'd taken to trimming them once he'd started Kung Fu, much to his mother's chagrin, but was always happy to know that they still continued to grow even after so many years wearing his hat.

He took a deep breath, holding it in for a few moments before sighing it out. He glanced around to the others and noted that everyone, even Tigress, looked rather relaxed and at ease. He looked to their guest and tilted his head as he regarded him. He was sitting with his legs crossed, slouched down and plucking at the grass. He seemed far more comfortable sitting here in the grass than he had been anywhere else so far. Crane looked around at the forestry just next to them, the barracks that were acting as a sound barrier of sorts and the mountains just beyond. _Well, it is rather peaceful right here, I think,_ Crane mused, realizing how quiet it was as well. He then lifted his head higher and realized there wasn't even a breeze today.

The air was calm, the sun was warm, and an air of tranquility seemed to hang over them all.

He then looked to his feet. He ran his talons over the short grass and tilted his head. He felt the corners of his beak quirk up as an idea occurred to him. "Hey, I'll be right back," he said, picking up his hat and placing it neatly back atop his head. "I'm gonna run to my room and get something real quick," he explained as the others looked to him curiously.

"Me too," Monkey said suddenly, jumping up. "I'll go with you," he said with a smile.

Crane was surprised but didn't protest as they started off before anyone else could say anything. The barracks being so close, it wasn't even very far to go. They scampered up the hallway, each making it to their respective doors.

"Crane?"

Crane just barely got his door open when he turned at Monkey's voice, seeing the simian standing in his own doorway just across from him. "Yeah?"

Monkey hesitated for a moment but finally tilted his head and looked at Crane with concerned eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Crane felt his eyes go wide. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

Monkey chewed on his lip a moment, eyes never leaving Crane's. "Yesterday," he answered simply.

Crane felt his stomach drop. "Oh…" He averted his eyes as the memory bubbled up. "About that…"

"We know you too well," Monkey said earnestly, moving forward. "We know what almost happened, even if we don't know why."

Crane kept his eyes on the floorboards. "I… I remembered… while I stood there looking at him. I remembered what happened the last time I stood face to face with him," he said. He looked to Monkey's still concerned eyes.

Monkey lowered his head, but kept his gaze. "When he took you and Mantis," he deduced.

Crane nodded. "Yeah. I faced him then. And… it was like I was nothing." He looked away, gaze drifting down the hall. "I never told you guys, but he actually flicked me away. That was all it took. Years, decades, of training, and he flicked me across the way like I was just a grain of rice."

"He was very strong," Monkey commented.

"Yeah," Crane said with a nod. "But then, facing him this time… it was like facing an untrained villager. It wasn't even like facing a nomad, not that I've faced one myself," he said with a shrug. "But, then I remember again and…" he shook his head. Crane was quiet a moment before looking back to Monkey. "I trust Po, just like you and the others. It's just… I don't know what's going to happen. He's nothing like he was, he's not even like those villagers he was with, or even like the nomads that I've met before… but," he shook his head, "I'm just worried. I don't know what will happen… when Bobo remembers that he's Kai," he finished in a quiet voice.

Monkey nodded and scratched at his chin, eyes darting down the hall before looking back to Crane. "We can only hope," he said, resting his fists to the floor. "Especially after what we saw… maybe we have reason to hope he will change."

Crane nodded, remembering what Monkey was referring to: the breakdown the bull had had, the tears he'd cried after having bested Shifu, if only for a moment. "Maybe," he conceded.

"It's okay," Monkey said suddenly.

Crane looked to him with a start. "What?"

"It's okay to be conflicted," Monkey clarified. "Just remember you have us to lean on, yeah?" he said with a hopeful smile.

Crane couldn't help but smile back. "Yeah. I could never forget that," he responded. He then tilted his head to his room. "We should probably get our things and get back, huh."

Monkey chuckled. "Probably!"

Crane raised a feathery brow and tilted his head. "You didn't just come with me to ask how I was, did you?"

Monkey smirked, but waved his hand as he turned and hopped into his room. "Not just that. I wanted to get one of my puzzles too!"

Crane shook his head, smile still present as he turned and headed into his room. He gathered quickly what he'd come for: his parchment, brush and ink. He met Monkey outside, the simian holding a netted bag with one of his woodblock puzzles in it.

Monkey grinned and shook it side to side. "I've been saving this for a good calm day!"

Crane chuckled. "What I have is good for _any_ calm day."

Monkey scoffed and grinned again as they started back out.

The others were right where they'd left them. Po was sprawled along the grass, head propped on his arms as if he were napping; Tigress was sitting as if meditating, legs crossed and paws clasped in her lap; Viper and Mantis were chatting quietly with each other; and Shifu was still perched on his rock, eyes closed and ears twitching minutely. Bobo was still cross legged with his hooves in his lap, but his eyes to the sky, looking at the mountaintops on the horizon.

Crane looked to Monkey and they shared quick smirks, as if having plotted a prank. But, they simply returned to their spots, Monkey in front of Tigress next to Bobo, and Crane, feeling the irony, right next to Bobo on the other side. Crane listened as Monkey dumped his puzzle out, the pieces knocking together with the pleasant chime that wood on wood makes. He busied himself with his own materials, rolling the bamboo matt out and spreading the parchment across the top. He used his talons to expertly tuck the pages into the slats at either end and then proceeded to inspect his brush and inkwell. He glanced up and felt a light smirk color his beak.

Bobo was looking at the parchment and brush with wide, curious eyes. He hadn't turned to look, almost as if sneaking a peek at something he shouldn't be seeing, but it was obvious he was already enthralled with this development.

Crane opened his inkwell and sat it down carefully on the ground, nestling it into the grass so it didn't move. He then gripped his brush securely in his talons and took a deep breath.

Peace.

That was the first word that came to his mind as he stared at the blank parchment. He nodded to himself, another slight smile picking up the edges of his beak as he dipped the brush tip into the ink. He pulled it out, shaping the tip against the inkwell's lip, and then moved swiftly and expertly, painting out the characters for peace in solid, single strokes. When he was done he leaned back and admired his work, quite satisfied with this first attempt. Sometimes, it took him a few tries to get it how he liked it, but this time it had come out strangely perfect. He looked up, knowing full well what he was going to see. Somehow, that made him smile even brighter.

Bobo was blatantly staring in awe at what he'd done, looking at the markings as if they were pure magic.

Crane couldn't help but think of himself the first time he'd seen Kung Fu. It was as if he'd seen the secrets of the universe being unraveled right before his very eyes.

Suddenly, Monkey's words came unbidden, floating through his mind. _"We can only hope… maybe we have reason to hope he will change…"_

Crane blinked, regarding the staring behemoth unabashedly as he took in how childlike he seemed, how curious he was, how open and amazed his expression appeared. It was such a surreal thing to see, and it just didn't mesh with what he knew. What he thought he knew, anyway.

Crane took a quiet breath. _I hope you're right, Monkey,_ he thought. _I really do._ He glanced back down to his work. His eyes then darted back up as an idea occurred to him. "Do you wanna try?" he asked so suddenly he surprised even himself.

Bobo abruptly came back to himself and turned his head away, averting his eyes as he slouched into himself. "N-no, I-I'm sorry," he mumbled quickly, fumbling over his words as he looked to the grass.

"No, no," Crane said, reaching a wing out, "You don't have to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong." He was taken aback by the reaction and couldn't help a pang of sympathy as Bobo looked back to him with wide, almost scared eyes. The bull didn't say anything more, however, only looking back to the parchment before looking away again. Crane tilted his head. "I have more parchment, you know. I don't mind if you want to try too," he said gently. "See," he said, laying the brush down before undoing the top page of parchment to pull it away and lay it neatly in the grass next to him. "A whole new page," he said cheerfully.

Bobo looked at the now blank parchment and glanced back up. He had his head low and his shoulders sagged as he seemed to curl into himself even more. "I don't know how," he said quietly.

Crane felt his eyebrows nearly hit his hat. "No one… ever taught you how to write?"

Bobo shook his head as his eyes drifted to the paper.

Crane looked between the bull and the parchment and suddenly realized what that meant. "Do you… know how to read?" he asked softly.

Bobo's eyes darted back to him, but they drifted quickly back to the grass. "No."

Crane leaned back and couldn't help looking to the others. Each of them had concerned or sad expressions. Even Shifu seemed surprised by this knowledge.

Crane's gaze darted back to the bull and he clamped his beak shut. That was unexpected. Even in the worst cases of amnesia, that he'd read and heard of anyway, the folk stricken still retained rudimentary abilities that were learned through childhood. He could only think that either Kai himself had never learned to read and write, which seemed utterly illogical, or the five hundred plus years without contact with civilization had caused him to forget such basic skills.

Crane took a deep breath. "It's okay," he said, smiling lightly. "You don't have to know anything. It's just fun to draw."

Bobo looked back to him with wide eyes. "To draw?"

Crane nodded. "Yeah. Here, I'll show you," he said, tilting the mat to where it faced Bobo more directly. He looked up and nodded again.

Bobo caught on and turned himself, facing Crane and the parchment, though he seemed hesitant to do so.

"Okay," Crane said, smiling. "Go ahead and pick up the brush."

Bobo looked to it and bit his lip. His gaze darted every which way before he finally reached out. He gripped the handle in his left hoof almost like one would a garden utensil, his thumb claw down towards the brush tip as he held it carefully, as if afraid of breaking it. He looked up to Crane with an unsure expression.

Crane could have laughed and cried at the same time. "Here," he said gently, "Like this…" He reached out with his wings and held the brush as he readjusted the bull's grip, getting his fore and thumb claws in proper position and curling his back claw underneath as support. "Feel better?" he asked.

Bobo's eyes were wide and his shoulders stiff, his head down and his expression almost scared. But he looked to Crane and nodded silently.

Crane nodded slowly in return. "Good. So now, you dip the brush in the ink," he instructed. He didn't wait for Bobo however, and switched his wingtip out for his talons, slowly guiding the bull's hoof to the inkwell and moving him through the motions. He then guided his hoof directly over the parchment and waited. "And now… just draw," he said quietly. He released his talons, but hovered them over Bobo's hoof as he looked to his face.

Bobo appeared petrified. He was staring at the paper as he held his arm out, completely motionless. After a few moments, his eyes darted to Crane's.

Crane felt nostalgia ripple through his mind as he took in the expression on the bull's face.

He didn't know what to do.

He didn't even know how to drag a brush across paper.

Crane clamped his beak tight as he remembered the first time he'd been allowed out of his house without pillows and blankets covering his body, the first time he'd said hi to a stranger, the first time he'd set foot in the Academy, the first time he'd watched so many other people to such magnificent things that he'd imagined he'd never do.

Crane swallowed hard through a sudden lump in his throat. "It's okay. Let me show you," he said softly. He grasped Bobo's hoof in his talons again and lowered it slowly. As soon as the brush tip hit the paper, he guided Bobo's hoof, moving it in a circle. He then continued guiding it, helping him draw the choppy, uneven line in a spiral, over and over, reaching further and further to the edges of the parchment. "See," he said softly, "It's just movement." He ventured a glance up and felt the edges of his beak quirk up.

Bobo was watching intently, moving and allowing himself to be moved carefully, and he was utterly focused on the line they were making.

Crane looked back to the paper and as they came back around again, he guided his hoof in the opposite direction, making a straight line trailing all the way to the end of the parchment. As soon as they hit the edge, he lifted Bobo's hoof, and they were done. "See," Crane said, leaning up to look at the picture, "You did great."

Bobo leaned up and looked at it too, taking it in with the same awe and wonder with which he'd looked at Crane's characters. "What is it?" he asked suddenly, looking up to Crane curiously.

Crane looked to him with a start and then back to the picture. "It's whatever you want it to be," he answered.

"Looks like a spiral to me," Mantis suddenly chimed in, hopping to the edge of the matt.

Crane made a face at the insect and looked at Bobo. "That too," he commented.

Bobo looked at it again. "A spiral," he said quietly, as if testing the word. He then looked up with a hopeful expression. "Can I," he paused and averted his gaze. "I mean… may I… try again?" he asked.

Crane raised his brows and glanced to Mantis who shrugged. "Well yeah, sure," Crane answered. He removed the layer of parchment carefully and moved it to the side, stacking it neatly on top of his piece. He glanced up in surprise to see Monkey sitting next to it, watching carefully. He wiggled his eyebrows and gave a hidden thumbs up with his foot. Crane then went back to the parchment and made sure it was secure for another try. He glanced to the side to see Tigress, on her stomach, stretched out to where she could just see around Bobo, and Viper dangling off her shoulder and inching further to the side to see better. He glanced further to his right to see Po now sitting up, leaning on his arms but watching intently. Even Shifu was paying full attention from his perch on the rock.

Crane couldn't help a small smile as he looked back. He pushed the matt a little closer and focused back on Bobo. "Do you want help this time, or do you think you got it?"

Bobo looked to him and nodded. "I think I got it," he answered.

Crane nodded back. "Okay, but I'm right here if you need help," he affirmed with another smile.

Bobo nodded and looked back to the parchment and ink. He repeated the inking motion that Crane had walked him through, moving slowly and deliberately. He then moved his arm as Crane had moved it, reaching out into the center of the parchment. He paused a moment, as if unsure what to do, but he finally moved, bringing the brush downward. As soon as the tip hit the paper, he did as Crane had, moving it in a spiral motion, only much smaller. He carried it outward, moving slowly and carefully. When it got about the size of a leaf, he tilted his head. He paused, but only for a moment before carrying the line out a bit and making a soft angled turn and pulling it up. He then made another soft turn and pulled it across, as if making a square with rounded corners. He then brought it down, finishing what would be the last side. But instead of turning it to finish the square, he turned it the other way, starting a new one. He went through the same motions, only opposite, making another rounded square next to the first and then continuing the line on the inside to make another spiral. When he finished the inside of the spiral he paused, lifting the brush off the paper. He seemed to think a moment before leaning forward, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration as he touched the brush to the edge of the second square and made a line, carrying it out a small ways away, flowing outward from the squares. He paused yet again, lifting the brush as he stared at the picture. He was still for several moments before he tilted his head, leaning forward hesitantly. He touched the brush to the paper, just above the last line he'd made, and made a small line up from it, reaching towards the squares. He then made another and another, in increments leading away from the start until he got to the end of it. He finally moved his hoof away and leaned up, looking at what he'd drawn with wide eyes. He then looked to Crane in question. "What is this?"

Crane blinked and shook his head lightly. He looked up to Bobo and stared for a moment before he suddenly remembered he was expected to answer. "Huh- I mean… um." He looked back to the picture. "What…. what do you want it to be?" he asked back.

Bobo looked at it and was quiet as he thought. "I don't know," he answered.

Crane looked back up, eyeing the bull carefully. He seemed confused, and was staring at the picture as if he hadn't just drawn it. He glanced to the others. Every one of them had an expression that he felt mirrored his insides.

All of them were looking at the picture with the same guarded thoughtfulness coloring their eyes. Shifu especially looked like he'd rather be anywhere else but on that rock and looking at this parchment. Crane looked back to the picture and took a deep breath.

If he didn't know better, and perhaps he didn't, he'd say he was looking at a partial rendering of a tortoise shell.

 **XoXoX**

Po listened to his footsteps as he walked down the hall. The feint echo was something he'd gotten so used to he hardly noticed it anymore, but sometimes the noise snuck up on him and he would get lost listening to it.

Like right now.

Po shook his head lightly, part of him hoping it would help free up some room in his head.

It didn't.

His mind was heavy with a lot if things right now, and he could feel it was the same for the others. He could only hope that now that they had Kai, Bobo, here with them, that maybe they could get things moving. He wasn't too keen on how silent his subconscious had been, or how much they still didn't know or understand. _Speaking of which,_ Po thought to himself, looking up as he finally reached his destination. He took a deep breath as he faced the scroll room door.

Shifu had excused himself not long after seeing the drawing from Bobo. After they had had their fill of sitting and laying around, they'd gotten up and went about separate tasks, Crane and Monkey returning to the barracks to put away their things and the others leading Bobo with them to the kitchen. Po had slipped away to track Shifu down. He had some questions that he felt maybe Shifu could answer. Zeng had obliged in telling him that the older master was in the scroll room. Po wasn't sure about disturbing him, but he _was_ sure that his questions needed to be asked.

Po nodded to himself and knocked on the door. He heard a muffled "enter" and proceeded. He opened the door to see Shifu at the table, leaning over several scrolls. He also caught sight of their mysterious box tucked neatly under the table, hidden amongst a few baskets and scroll tubes. He raised a brow at seeing it out in view, but decided to ignore it for the moment and walked up just behind Shifu, trying not to be too disruptive.

"What is it, Po?" Shifu asked without turning.

Po jumped and stared. "How did you know it was me?" he asked without thinking.

Shifu rolled the scroll he'd been reading up a few sections and turned to raise a brow at the panda.

Po looked away. "Yeah, oops," he muttered. He looked back and noticed that Shifu looked unusually tired, as if, instead of walking around the grounds that morning, they had done more rigorous training than normal. He almost lost his train if thought as he considered asking if Shifu was alright, but he thought better of it. The red panda already looked irritated at being disturbed. Asking after anything other than his initial reasoning would probably get him kicked out.

Po cleared his throat and crossed his arms behind his back. "Well, um, anyway, I had a few questions- well, just one really, that I thought you might be able to help me out with," he said, glancing to Shifu hopefully.

"And that question would be?" Shifu asked pointedly, ear flicking with barely contained annoyance.

Po chewed on the inside of his lip a moment as he tapped his fingers on his crossed forearms. "Well… I was wondering if you… maybe… knew someone?" He bounced on the balls of his feet. "Someone by the name of Gidahn?" He tilted his head hopefully as he eyed Shifu.

The diminutive master raised a brow as he returned Po's gaze. "Why would I know this person?"

Po's face fell and his shoulders slumped. That was not the answer he'd been looking for.

He looked away as he uncrossed his arms and recrossed them in front of him. "Well, I guess I don't know that you would. We just encountered him at the village when we found Bobo- Kai," he glanced to the side, "Bobo… anyway, when we found _him_ , we were kind of stone-walled by this old yak named Gidahn. He's not _that_ old, I guess, but- anyway, anyway," Po shook his head, trying to keep his thoughts straight, "point is, this isn't a normal run-of-the-mill yak."

Shifu shook his head slowly. "And why does this concern us? Or me for that matter?"

Po huffed lightly through his nose. "Well, the thing is," he started pacing, "this guy Gidahn, he was kind of the authority around there, right, so we kinda had to go through him. And he didn't just act like some village elder, he had a very systematic way of handling the situation and _us_. Even the way he spoke and moved was waaay different from the way the other folk of the village were," he said, eyes focused as he recalled the still recent events. "And even more, when I told him about Kai-"

"Wait, you what?!" Shifu cut him off. "You _told_ someone?"

Po froze on the spot before looking to Shifu with wide eyes. "Well, just him. And we kinda had to-"

"What do you mean you 'kinda had to'?" Shifu asked in aggravation. "The details of this mission, _all details_ , should have been kept a strict secret!"

Po bit his lip. He uncrossed his arms and gave an exaggerated shrug. "We _had_ to tell him, Shifu, otherwise he wouldn't have let us leave with him."

"Who was he to tell you who you could and couldn't leave with?" Shifu asked, tossing his arms in the air.

"The guy the other villagers listened to!" Po shot back. "And- that's not even the point," he interjected, "the point is that this guy had enough knowledge to know _who_ we were talking about. And not only that, when I told him, and something weird happened, he did something even more strange; he put me to the ground!" Po stepped forward and looked at Shifu intently. "I know I'm not like you, or Tigress, or the others, but I'm the Dragon Warrior and I've got a few years of training under my belt now, and I'm telling you Shifu, this guy was fast, almost as fast as you are, and he got me to the ground in seconds!"

Shifu opened his mouth to say something but paused as he held Po's gaze. He narrowed his eyes as he regarded him, Po's words obviously bouncing around inside his head. "So, you're telling me this yak you've never met, knew who Kai was, and was able to throw you to the ground?"

"Yes!" Po said spiritedly. "And, there's more! Remember yesterday, when you caught up with us in the Master Garden?"

Shifu raised his brows and lifted his arms. " _Yes._ "

"Bobo was looking around right, and we were asking if he recognized anyone," Po turned and started pacing once more, "and of course we all thought we knew he'd say yes, and we all thought we knew who that would be, but we were all wrong! He turned and he pointed to Master Thundering Rhino-"

"Master Thundering Rhino?" Shifu blurted.

"Yes, Master Thundering Rhino!" Po answered, not skipping a beat. "And we asked where he knew him from and he told as that the yak Gidahn was a woodworker and that he had a small wooden carving of," he turned and pointed at Shifu, "Master Thundering Rhino!" he said excitedly. "He said this carving looked exactly like the statue in our garden. And then!" he stepped forward closing the distance to the table Shifu was standing on, "And then, when we tell him that Master Thundering Rhino is _Master_ Thundering Rhino, he says-"

"Po, guess who's here!"

"What?" Po and Shifu said in unison as they turned to the doorway.

In the doorway stood none other than Mr. Ping, beaming happily with his wingtips clapped together.

"Dad! What are you doing here?" Po asked in confusion, completely taken aback.

"I came to tell you the good news!" Ping chirped happily.

Po felt his insides cringe. "What's the good news?" he asked, trying not to sound concerned.

"Li made up some time after the pass, so everyone's here early!" Ping answered, clapping his wings together.

Po and Shifu stared wide-eyed. They looked to each other in unison, mirroring each other's expressions of dread.

"Oh no," Shifu breathed.

"This is bad," Po squeaked.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Ping asked, his cheerfulness dropping.

Po looked to Ping as anxiety started to tickle up his spine. "Dad, where's Dad?"

 **XoXoX**

The day was still bright, the sun still shining happily. Tigress took a deep breath as she looked to the light filtering through the windows of the hall. She listened to the extra footsteps walking alongside herself and Viper, Mantis hitching a ride on her shoulder.

Bobo walked carefully, as if concerned of the noise he'd make or that he might bump into something. He kept his head down but continued looking around in curiosity.

 _He didn't get to see the inside last time._

Tigress nearly missed a step at the stray thought. She recovered her countenance without so much as a twitch, continuing her leisurely pace. She schooled her face as she chastised herself. _This is not the time for those kinds of thoughts._ She glanced to the still carefully shuffling bull. _Not yet anyway,_ another part of her chimed in.

After an admittedly brief snack, Bobo refusing what was offered despite their best efforts, Mantis suggested showing him the Hall of Heroes. Neither Tigress nor Viper could think of a reason to object. If they were showing him around, showing him everything, then there wasn't any reason to hide anything, especially not one of the greatest collections of Kung Fu history.

Tigress glanced ahead.

They weren't very far now. Her vision grew unfocused as memory came back once again.

The Hall hadn't been explicitly touched by Kai's rampage. But the loss of support from the outside pillars of the palace had caused a large portion of the roof to collapse, taking one wall from the Hall with it. It had taken days to pick out the artifacts from the rubble. Even worse, the mural that had been on the wall had been completely unsalvageable. Luckily, between a few large pieces and the uniquely accurate memory of none other than Zeng, they were able to repaint the whole thing once the wall had been rebuilt.

 _That was only two years ago._ Tigress lowered her gaze as she mentally calculated the timeline. It had taken them two and a half years, not counting the down time taken due to sudden bad weather and the seasons, to rebuild all the damage done. It had taken another six months of final touches, such as the intricate designs painted on columns, ornate carvings of wood, jade or rock that needed to be redone, and replacing certain items that had been made or purchased elsewhere. The mural on the rebuilt wall of the Hall of Heroes had taken three months all on it's own time, and would have taken longer if Zeng hadn't been so dedicated.

 _An instant of anger resulted in years of repairs,_ Tigress mused. She took a quick breath and looked up at the magnificent double doors they were now only a few steps away from. They were deep red that glowed warmly with glittering golden dragons painted on either side. Tigress blinked and came to a standstill. She was suddenly reminded of the box Oogway had given to Po; their part two. Her eyes darted to Bobo. He had come to a stop as well, eyes glued to the structures in awe. Tigress crossed her arms as she regarded him. "What do you think?" she asked, senses alert and cautious.

Bobo looked to her in surprise, as if forgetting she was there. He looked back and forth between her and the doors and lowered his head. "I've never seen anything like it," he answered quietly.

Tigress felt her expression soften. She took a breath to speak-

"You haven't even seen the best part!" Mantis exclaimed. He proceeded to hop off her shoulder and bounce to the doors.

Tigress uncrossed her arms to rest her paws on her hips as she watched Mantis push the doors open. Her gaze turned to Bobo. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as they started forward. She felt a smirk color her lips as he went wide-eyed.

The Hall of Heroes was truly a sight to behold for anyone who'd never seen such a thing. The number of memorable objects and meaningful artifacts rivaled even the great collection of the royal palace in the imperial city. And the stewards' palace in Gongmen, erected shortly after the battle with Shen, was more of a working location than a ceremonial one, leaving little room to keep sacred or important objects.

Bobo, for his part, was as astounded as one would expect. His eyes drank in everything under raised brows with an expression of utter disbelief. He followed them slowly, keeping behind and stepping where they stepped, hooves clasped in front of him, head lowered timidly, as if he were afraid a single misstep might cause disaster.

Tigress could hear Mantis and Viper explaining everything, but she was barely listening. She allowed her steps to slow and her strides to shorten, keeping her attention on the bull. She watched him silently with her paws crossed behind her back. She was looking for a sign; a shimmer through the eyes, a flick of the ears, a gasp… any kind of indicator of recognition. Certainly, if anything could spark memory, it would be this quality and quantity of history, right?

Tigress' steps paused. _Wrong_ … She remembered her thought from out in the hall. Her eyes hit the ground. _What if… Kai never saw the palace before five years ago?_ Tigress looked back up, eyes refocusing on the bull as he listened attentively to her fellow masters.

Never once had a Nomad caravan passed into the Valley of Peace. Not in her lifetime living here, and never in any known records that she'd ever read. The palace had been constructed nearly eight hundred years ago, but if the bull-folk never visited this part of China then there was no reason to expect he'd ever seen it. _Not even after they became friends, though?_ Tigress questioned in her mind, clenching her fingers tightly behind her as she continued to monitor the others. She bit the inside of her lip. That raised yet another question that had already been asked.

How did Kai and Oogway even meet each other?

Tigress took a slow deep breath, an attempt to quell a sudden frustration welling in her chest. _If bull-folk never travel here, and they don't trust anyone other than their own, how did Kai and Oogway meet and how did they befriend each other?_ She shook her head just barely and started her steps again, slowly catching up to the three of them. _Why do we know so little about this, when we know everything else about Oogway?_

Tigress' feet stilled once again as realization swept through her like an icy wind. _We don't know everything… we only know what he allowed us to know._ The thought echoed through her mind like a drumbeat through a temple.

 _What else did Oogway keep hidden from us?_

"Tigress?"

She looked up with a start. Viper had slithered back to her and was looking on with concern. Tigress smiled, despite the sudden churning in her stomach. "Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts," she explained honestly.

Viper smiled and nodded with an understanding expression.

 _If only you really understood,_ Tigress couldn't help thinking.

They made their way back to Bobo and Mantis, who were now at the reflecting pool. Mantis was at the lip of the pool trying to usher Bobo to him. The bull seemed concerned.

"Is everything alright?" Tigress asked.

Bobo looked to her, but kept his mouth shut, as if afraid to answer.

"I was just telling him he could come up and look," Mantis answered with a shrug.

Tigress looked to Bobo and observed how he was carrying himself, how hunched his shoulders were and how low his head was. She glanced to the two steps, one an actual step and the other making up the platform of the pool. She raised a brow in nostalgia as the probable issue occurred to her. "You don't have to stand," she commented. "You can kneel too." She walked the two steps up and took three strides to the rim of the pool, then bent her knee, bringing her other leg under herself and half kneeling, half sitting at the edge. She looked to him with a small smile. "Then you can still look over and see." She leaned forward, supporting herself with one arm as she looked into the water.

She glanced to Mantis and winked her eye facing him. He straightened for a moment before realization spread across his features. No sooner had mantis winked back, did Tigress hear the cautious movements of the bull behind her. She had to keep herself from smirking.

It was his height.

He was taller than everyone there, even Po. That was bad enough. The prospect of standing on platform, making him even taller, certainly filled him with anxiety.

At least, that had been her experience, now many years ago.

He carefully made his way next to her and slowly got down to his knees, placing his hooves just behind the pool's raised rim. He was still a moment, as if contemplating, before leaning over to peer into the surface of the water.

Tigress peeked at him out of the corner of her eye and promptly forgot to breathe.

The bull was looking at his reflection like it was the first time he'd ever seen it. His eyes were wide as his gaze traced the lines of his own face in the water. His mane was so long the ends of it were gently sweeping the top of the water, creating the lightest of feathery ripples on it's surface. The light from the lit candles along the wall always made this area seem to glow, and it reflected off the pool's surface back onto the bull's grey fur, making him appear almost ethereal.

It was so strange.

Tigress felt her body force an inhalation. But she didn't blink and she didn't look away. If she didn't know better she'd have thought she was suffering physical pain in her mind.

In this single instant, the bull in front of her looked so much like Kai… but so _unlike_ Kai at the same time.

Her mind conjured up the memory of swinging blades and rattling chains, arrogant laugher and harsh words, jade bodies that matched the green glowing eyes of their new master. But in front of her she saw someone so lost that the reflection of his own face was a mystery to him.

Tigress tightened her lips and finally forced herself to look away, regarding her own reflection in the water. Her expression looked stoic as usual. But she could see the quirk of her own eyebrows, the way her cheeks just under her eyes were raised so very minutely. _I can see my own emotion so subtly written on my own face,_ she thought. _And he's looking at his reflection like he's looking at the face of a stranger._ She slowly fisted her paw against the marble surface of the platform. Her ear twitched as she heard him breath in. She hadn't realized he'd stopped breathing. Then came a question whispered so quietly she almost didn't hear it.

"How old am I?"

Tigress jerked her head to the bull without thinking. She heard Viper hiss in surprise and Mantis click his antennae. She realized they were all now staring at the bull like he'd spoken another language.

He seemed oblivious as he continued to regard his own reflection. Then, he finally moved, looking at them from under his brows timidly. "Do… you know?" he asked quietly, his eyes darting from Viper to Mantis before landing on Tigress.

Tigress held his gaze, knowing her eyes staring back at him were wide and off guard.

She didn't know.

None of them did. No one knew how old Kai was. He'd been in the Spirit Realm for five hundred years, but she was certain that shouldn't be taken into account, even if he didn't die a natural death. _Especially_ since he didn't die a natural death. Regardless of how he got to the Spirit Realm, the one scroll they had that said anything about Kai made no mention of how old he was when he got there.

Tigress bit the inside of her lip as she continued to stare at the bull completely lost for words. She couldn't even bring herself to tell him that they didn't know. She took a breath and opened her mouth… and nothing came out.

Bobo held her gaze for a few moments longer before his eyes dropped. He looked back to his reflection on the water, his expression somber. "It's okay," he said softly, "no one else knows either."

Those words cut through her like a knife.

Tigress felt something starting that hadn't happened in a long time: Stinging in her eyes.

Tigress blinked as she felt her eyes growing moist. She could feel her heart beating deeper and her breaths coming quicker. It had been a long time, even with everything they'd been through in the last several years, since she'd been brought to tears. Granted, she wasn't crying yet, but she could feel the ache in her chest and the heat rising in her face. Even worse that she would feel this way towards someone who had caused part of the turmoil of the years. However, in this instant it was suddenly so easy to see why Po was so adamant about helping him.

 _But, how can we help him remember himself… when we don't know anything about him?_ She questioned.

THUD!

There was a flurry of motion as Tigress, Mantis and Viper stood at attention and got on guard. They faced the rest of the hall as Bobo hunched low behind them still on his knees, looking around in panic.

Tigress took a deep breath through her nose, her previous emotional status melting away as years of training took over. Her eyes scanned the hall, looking for any source of the noise. Armor, artifacts, tapestries, weapons, stands- everything was still in it's place. Her eyebrows drew down. She flicked her ear as she listened.

She flicked her ear again as she felt Mantis land on her shoulder. "I don't remember closing the doors," he whispered.

Her eyes darted to the structures and sure enough, they were closed. She locked eyes with Mantis. She then raised her paw and motioned for them to move forward. She crossed the platform and made it to the floor when she heard Bobo shuffle.

"Wait," he called in a hushed voice. "What-"

She turned and pointed at him, her other arm still on guard. "Follow behind," she whispered. "Stay three yards back."

Bobo looked at her with large fearful eyes but nodded slowly.

She turned back and started forward again. She listened to Bobo stand and follow as quietly as he could manage, which was strangely quieter than she expected. She then heard Viper's soft scales moving across the marble as her fellow master passed her and took lead position. They trekked quietly down center of the Hall and eventually made it to the door, Viper swinging to the side to a flanking position on Tigress' left and Mantis hopping off her shoulder to take position between them and the doors. He looked back, waiting for Tigress to give the go. She glanced to him then back to the doors and nodded.

Mantis nodded back and hopped to the doorway, only an inch from the wood. He squared himself and reached forward, tucking his foreclaws into the seam.

"SURPRISE!"

"HEYOH!"

"EEE!"

The door burst open with happy shouts to reveal three small Pandas.

Tigress froze wide-eyed as she immediately recognized twelve-year-old Bao, eight-year-old Lei Lei and one of the newest additions to the panda families, three-year-old Leia. Ordinarily, she would be thrilled to see all of them. But this… was not an ordinary situation.

Lei Lei jumped excitedly. "Auntie Stripey, we got here early!"

Bao punched the air. "Yeah, we wanted to surprise you! Did it work?"

Leia giggled and clapped her paws as she took a few steps forward.

Tigress couldn't breathe. _Oh yes, I'm surprised-youneedtogonow!_ she thought instead of said. Part of her hoped, knowingly in vein, that they wouldn't be observant enough to look behind the three masters. However, no sooner had the hope wafted up and out of her mind did she see all three pandas look past her.

As if in slow motion, she saw Lei Lei's and Bao's expressions drop from happy excitement to shocked disbelief. They stared, eyes as wide as she felt hers were, at a point not far behind her. Tigress closed her lips tight as she dropped her guard and turned, looking to see Bobo staring back at the pandas as if they were savage vipers ready to poison him. She looked back to the youngsters and finally took a breath. The noise prompted Lei Lei and Bao to look at her.

Tigress clenched her fists as her mind started to race. "I can explain," she said stiffly. She raised her paws slowly. "It's… hard to explain… but I can explain," she continued, forcibly slowing her words to try to calm her mind.

"Explain?" Bao questioned, his expression marring. "How?"

Tigress felt her heart start to race with her mind as she saw the beginnings of anger in the young panda's face. She glanced to Lei Lei and saw her eyes still glued to the bull, starting to become fearful. "It's…" she looked back to Bao, "it's a long story."

Viper slithered closer. "You won't understand it all, even we don't, but that's okay," she added in a soft voice. "Just stay calm and let us tell you what we know."

Bao looked at her with utter incredulity. "Stay calm? What do you mean stay calm!?"

"Bao," Tigress interjected, stepping forward. "Don't raise your voice," she ordered calmly. Despite the maelstrom playing out in her mind, she was not about to be yelled at by a child.

"Auntie," Lei Lei squeaked. "Is it him?"

Tigress swallowed hard at that question. How did one answer both yes and no at the same time?

"Eeh!"

All eyes shot to the youngest panda. She had walked forward further without notice. Her eyes were glued to Bobo.

Tigress looked back to Bobo. His eyes were glued to Leia.

Both of them were staring at each other wide-eyed.

Tigress took a deep breath and raised her paws slowly. "Okay… I want everyone to listen." She glanced around to the others one by one. "We're all going to-"

"Fluffy!"

All eyes shot once again to Leia as she suddenly lurched forward and started trotting to Bobo.

Tigress froze. Why, being a Kung Fu Master with decades of training and reflexes as fast as thought, she froze on the spot and watched dumbly as Leia ran, she wasn't sure. But she watched, noticing that everyone else was doing the same, as Leia ran forward to the behemoth behind them.

Bobo promptly panicked.

"Oh no! No! No-no-no-no!" He backed up, easily keeping away from her as her tiny strides only carried her so fast. He waved his arms out in front of him, as if the motion might ward her away. The action only seemed to entertain her and she laughed and reached out towards him. "Nooo-no, stay away!" he said in a pleading voice. He looked behind him in the nick of time and gasped as he realized he was about to back into a stand that had three vicious-looking swords propped on it. He looked between the giggling toddler and the sharp objects and immediately changed course. He started backing further into the Hall, uttering continued protests as Leia followed him all the way. "No, no, no, you need to stay away!" he said fearfully, holding his hooves out in front of him. "Go back, go back to them over there." He pointed back the way they'd come, but with no success. Leia's eyes were squarely on him, tiny arms reaching out to him and tiny paws grasping.

"Fluffy!" the little cub called again, giggling as she tottered after him.

"No- no fluffy!" Bobo responded. He looked back behind him and paused. He was only a few more steps from the reflecting pool's first step. "Ah! Go back!" He turned and made a shooing motion with his hooves. "Stop, stop, go back!" he said. Again, with no success.

Leia padded forward and suddenly made a grab. Bobo jolted backwards, his hoof narrowly missing her tiny grasp. She laughed at the sudden movement and made to grab again, closing the distance.

Bobo's feet bumped the bottom step and he fell into a seated position on the platform. He looked quickly behind him then back to the still grinning panda cub. "Nononono!" he whined before finally thrusting his hooves flat out in front of him. He turned his head away and clenched his eyes shut, looking more like he expected a boulder to crash into him instead of a toddler.

Nothing happened.

Bobo remained still for a few moments before a spirited giggle erupted into the room. He peeked an eye open at the noise.

Tigress watched him as she held Leia in her arms, having finally come to her senses enough to run to the pair and stop the toddler's advance. The giggly cub was trying to wiggle free, still trying to get to the "Fluffy" as she kept mumbling under her breath. Tigress' arms were too much to be fought with, however.

Bobo looked between her and the cub. Finally, he opened his eyes and lowering his arms to clasp his hooves in front of him, hanging his head as he did so.

Tigress was dumbfounded. "Why were you running away from her?" She tilted her head as her brows drew down in confusion. "You have nothing to be afraid of. You'd sooner hurt her by accident than she'd hurt you."

Bobo looked up from under his brows. "I know," he mumbled. "I've always been told to stay away from babies… because I'm so big…"

Tigress felt her face mar as shock and surprise swirled in her mind like a whirlpool. Then nostalgia hit her once again. Feint wisps of memory from her childhood and teenage years floated into her mind. She watched him lower his head down further as she remembered a time, long ago, when she had been afraid to hold a child for fear she was too strong. Now, she felt the wiggling, giggling ball of fur in her arms, and she held her with just the right amount of strength. She'd learned, much easier than she had ever thought, how to use her strength to be gentle.

Tigress shook her head slowly. "You won't hurt her," she said without thinking.

Bobo's eyes shot to hers.

It seemed to grow quiet as they stared at each other. Even Leia's coos and spouts seemed muted.

Tigress smiled, a feint reassuring smile. "I'll teach you," she said in a quiet voice. "It's not as hard as you think."

Bobo's eyes never left hers. "You… you would-"

"Hey!"

Both of them jolted and turned towards the doorway.

Tigress saw the others leaning to look down the hall and heard muffled echoes. _That was Po's voice,_ she thought, concern fluttering though her mind.

"Hey guys," his voice came again. It sounded like he'd been running. "You haven't seen Tigress have you?" His breathless voice was nearly at the door.

Tigress raised a brow as she watched at the others turn to her.

Mantis flicked his antennae. "Is that a trick question?" he yelled back.

Finally, Po's form became visible stumbling through the doorway. He took the opportunity to lean against the open door, supporting himself with his arm. "I just- I need to-" he looked up and his eyes darted to the far end of the Hall. His face fell. "Oh," he huffed. Another form stumbled into the doorway after him, finding purchase on the other door.

It was Li Shan.

"Wooo!" he huffed, leaning forward and resting his paws to his knees. "I'll never like running," he mumbled. He looked up and caught sight of the cubs. "Hey, kids, have you-" his eyes darted down the Hall as well. "Oh," he breathed, mimicking Po. His expression didn't mimic his son's, however, instead becoming guarded and stony as he stood straight. Still huffing lightly, he looked to the younger panda next to him. "This is what you meant," he said, more of an accusation than a question.

Po stood straight as well, gaze apologetic as he looked from Tigress to Li. "Yeah," he answered. "But it's not what you think."

"Really?" Li looked from Po to the bull.

Tigress swallowed the bundle of nerves in her throat as she looked back to Bobo. He eyed the older Panda fearfully as he cringed into himself.

"I can explain," Po said, taking a breath and letting out one final huff. "Not very well," he shrugged, "but I can explain."

"I'd like to hear it," Li said in a gravely voice, his gaze never leaving the bull.

"Uncle!"

Suddenly all eyes turned to Lei Lei, who no longer held any trace of the fear she'd displayed earlier. "Uncle, I don't think it's him," she said.

Li Shan raised a brow as he glanced between her and the bull then back. "Why?" he asked tilting his head almost comically.

"He was afraid of Leia!"

"He was?" Li straitened, looking back, catching sight of the bubbly cub in Tigress' arms.

"Well, she's got a point," Bao said, grudgingly crossing his arms. "I don't know how _anyone_ could be afraid of Leia."

"Well," Mantis scratched the back of his head as he glanced to the ceiling, "she did kinda pull a Lei Lei, and I know I'd be terrified." He looked back down to jump lightly at everyone's eyes on him. "What!? I still have nightmares, okay!"

 **XoXoX**

Shifu sighed heavily as he leaned against his paws, letting his forehead rest in his palms as he closed his eyes. The scroll room always seemed to be a sanctuary of sorts. Especially after long days.

And today had ended up being a _very_ long day.

He'd already been worn out by the morning apology and the strange occurrence during their walk, but the arrival of the pandas during this time, of all times, was the worst possible factor to add to the mix. It had taken _hours_ to explain everything. It was like holding a bonified village square meeting in the Grand Arena with dozens of concerned panda villagers all trying to ask questions at the same time.

Is it really Kai? How is he back? What does he want? What do you mean it's not Kai? Wait, it is Kai? Why is he here? He's still evil right? What happened to his horns? What do you mean he's mortal? Why are we calling him Bobo? Is he gonna do what he did last time? Does he have more Jombies in hiding? Why did he run away from Leia? Is his weakness babies?

Shifu shook his head slowly. His ears were still ringing from all of it. It was only lucky that they had managed to get away without telling any of them _why_ they had found the need to collect Kai in the first place. The pandas seemed more preoccupied with Kai himself than this "routine mission" that Po and the Five had been on when they had "discovered" him. He could only imagine how _that_ would have ended.

He pulled his paws down his face, raising his head to rest his jaw on his palms. He sat there for a while, eyes closed as he listened to the sound of blessed silence. He took a slow deep breath through his nose, relishing the smell of old scroll parchment, dust and the subtle smell of dried ink… before another smell came back to his attention.

Shifu nudged his eyelids open, thinking they felt heavier than normal. He looked over to the other side of the table.

Oogway's box.

He blinked slowly as he took in it's unique features once again; roughly but elegantly carved wood, stained a deep red on the inside panels but colored a muddy gold along the outside trim. There were raised designs carved into the top and sides of it, but they didn't seem to have a plan or pattern. They certainly weren't anything he'd ever seen before. And, oddly enough, Shifu had noticed something else about the box that he was sure the others had yet to catch on to.

It had a scent.

The strangest scent he had ever encountered. He couldn't place it, and by now he'd tried a hundred times or more. It was faintly familiar, as if something he'd known in his childhood. But it was exceptionally foreign, as if it was something new he'd never ran across before. And how the smell could emulate both instances simultaneously he wasn't sure.

Shifu groaned as he looked away and rubbed his temples. The subtle throb that was starting was a good indicator that his head was not having any more today. "I need to put everything away and go to bed," he mumbled. "I think I could use a good night's sleep… now that I'm getting them," he commented. He took one more deep breath before finally opening his eyes again. He dropped his paws and looked around at the scrolls on the table, suddenly wishing he was more like Monkey in practice. He chuckled to himself. "That certainly won't do," he muttered.

He hopped up on the table and started about the task of collecting the writings, rolling them, wrapping, tying or tubing them back up neatly like he'd found them. He picked up one of the few left unrolled and glanced to the characters. This had been the one he'd been looking at when Po had knocked. He raised a brow as he unrolled it a few sections.

Oogway's writing was uniquely easy to identify. His characters were always elegantly loopy, his strokes somehow free spirited yet heavy at the same time. This scroll was about artworks. Shifu scoffed in amusement. Oogway had written many of the scrolls in here. Many were important leaflets of knowledge. Others seemed like carefree musings.

He'd been given the idea to read through every one of Oogway's pawwritten scrolls by Bobo's drawing. It was both unsettling and intriguing to see the bull, so far removed from his memory, to paint something so familiar to all of them. Especially since that was the first time in, what, five hundred and five _years_ since he'd held a brush? But Shifu couldn't help but be reminded of Oogway's drawings, which lead him to think of all his writings, which lead him to think… maybe he could find a clue to the mystery of opening the box. Oogway had written so much in his lifetime, and the box was presumably built by his paw as well. Why wouldn't there be something referenced somewhere?

Shifu shook his head, rolling the scroll back up all the way. Unfortunately, his line of thinking had failed him.

At least, for the time being.

He hadn't found a single scrap of anything referencing boxes or woodwork or keys or anything remotely related. He supposed he could be looking in the wrong subject matter, but he knew better than anyone how enigmatic Oogway was. It would be no surprise to him if Oogway had hidden some otherworldly revelation in the writing of some scroll about tea!

Shifu laughed at his own thought process. _Wouldn't be more of a surprise than myself actually knowing who that yak was that Po asked me about,_ he thought, shaking his head again as he walked to the other two scrolls. _Why would he even ask me about some yak in a village out in the middle of nowhere anyway?_ Shifu questioned mentally, his mind deviating from his previous line of thought as his confusion and curiosity at that subject came crawling back. _Like I would know anything about some old yak that has a carving of…_ Shifu paused. "Master Thundering Rhino…" He paused and stood in the center of the table as he stared at the two remaining scrolls. He blinked slowly, his mind finally pulling back up the memory of several hours earlier. "Why _would_ he have a carving of Master Rhino?" he asked aloud to himself.

Shifu shook his head, squinting his eyes in thought as he laid out the facts that Po had presented to him.

An older yak, out in a secluded village away from the rest of China. He had authority in this village, but didn't act like the other villagers. He had some knowledge of events from the rest of the country, as he knew who Kai was when told. Not only did he know who Kai was, but he also had enough ability to put the Dragon Warrior to the ground? Then, he also happened to have… a carving of a Kung Fu Master?

Shifu blinked slowly. "Now hold on… this doesn't make sense." He scrunched his eyebrows down in consternation as he held his chin in thought. "Why would some random yak be hiding out in some village on the edge of civilization but somehow be observant enough to know who…"

The room went silent.

Shifu stared wide-eyed at the table underneath him, his paw in the air with a single finger pointed to the ceiling. He was completely frozen in place save for the now shallow breaths coming to him. His ears flicked lightly as he felt his heart start to race. "Not Master Thundering Rhino… Master _Flying_ Rhino," Shifu whispered.

His eyes darted up and just like that his fatigue was gone as he dropped the scroll in his arm and hopped off the table. "Master Flying Rhino, Master Flying Rhino," Shifu whispered almost like a mantra as he quickly made his way to a set of cubicles along the far left wall of the scroll room. "Master Flying Rhino," he repeated again, finding the cubicle set he was looking for. He hopped up, climbing up to about the middle of the set. "A yak, he's a yak," he muttered, starting to shuffle through the newer scrolls in front to try to get to the older ones in the back. "A yak by the name of… his name is… what was it again?" he asked himself, lowering his ears as he leaned in further. "Ah! Found it!" Shifu shouted triumphantly. He grabbed the older scroll set, five scrolls bound together. He looked to the characters painted on the sheath wrapped around them.

 _ **Tutorage of Rhino, Master of Flight**_

Shifu smiled. "You _did_ come to the right person Po." He leaned to the cubicle and crouched before thrusting with his legs, jumping backwards and using the momentum to turn his body in the air before landing perfectly on his feet. He stood straight and brushed the dust of the scrolls before heading back towards the table.

"I think I know _exactly_ who this Gidahn is!"

 **XxXxX**

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 **Author's note: I've mentioned how I made an art/fandom blog on Tumblr dot com. I still have one, but it's under a new name, "ArtInclined". All the old art that was previously posted under SheyConYamo is now over there (among other fandom related things), so go check it out! If you find the profile pic of the smiling red panda, you're in the right place. ;3  
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 **Thank you for the read! Have a good day or night and a wonderful time~**


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